By Christy Rasmussen-Ford

I’m guessing that when you broke into that shed a few weeks ago and then went back to steal a truck, you didn’t spend one-second thinking of the person you were stealing from. You probably only concerned yourself with how much you could get for the items. The owner deserves better. He doesn’t deserve to be faceless to you. No one that you steal from deserves to be faceless so I would like to introduce one of your victims;

The person you stole from didn’t exactly have an easy start at life. Statistically speaking, you probably didn’t either. You both made choices. Somewhere along the way, life presented a fork in the road to both of you. He went one way and you went the other.

Maybe it only took one desperate moment in life for you to go down that wrong path. He has had desperate moments, too, I’m sure, but you might never guess that.

He is the most cheerful guy you’ll ever meet. His mom said he was always like that. One could easily think that his goal in life is to make people happy. Now that I think of it, I can’t recall him ever yelling or even being angry very often. He laughs and tells jokes constantly, though sometimes (usually) his jokes are ridiculously cheesy.

He’s spent many of his years working with the youth in our community. He didn’t discriminate who he mentored either. Poor, wealthy, good student, bad attitude, bad decisions … it didn’t matter. He treated every young person he met the same and with hopes that maybe he would make a difference in their life. He worked with so many kids around this area that chances are good that he either worked with you or with someone you know.

He has the patience of a saint. If being a dad to four girls doesn’t highlight that, I don’t know what does. They are wonderful people, too, and will all say that their dad played a large part in their success.

The person you stole from is a really hard worker. He never expects to get something for nothing. He’s worked hard for everything he’s ever had including the things you stole. Because he has worked hard for everything, he treasured those items. They weren’t just things collecting dust out back. They were all meaningful to him.

Most important of all, you should know that if you ever decide to turn your life around, he will be your biggest supporter. He will be proud of you, even if he doesn’t know you. He will forgive you in a heartbeat and be the first to whole-heartedly give you a second chance with no strings attached. At no point will he ever hold any of your past mistakes against you. You won’t find that in everyone, but you will find it in him.

That is who you stole from. He is a person, much like you are and he has a story, much like you do. Change your story.

For questions or comments, e-mail me at christyrasmussen@yahoo.com