*Featured image uses photo by Cheron James on Unsplash
It was midday on a Sunday when a dark SUV pulled up in front of Jennifer Collier’s home in Independence, Missouri. A man got out, ran up the driveway and went straight into the garage. Moments later, he emerged with two leaf blowers and he drove off.
Collier and her family were working in the backyard at the time, about 20 feet away.
The Reason Why One Woman Decided to Forgive a Thief
The incident was caught on Collier’s security camera and on their neighbor’s camera too. In the footage they saw the truck sitting out front for a while and assumed that the burglar was waiting for an opportunity to strike.
What they don’t understand is what he took.
“’Why a leaf blower?’ was my first thought. There’s so much more he could’ve taken that was far more valuable,” Collier told FOX News.
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She said the garage was wide open and there were so many more valuable things around. Even her purse was in there but the burglar didn’t take it.
Collier posted the surveillance footage on a homeowners’ group and it gained the attention of many other victims who came forward and shared their experiences. One homeowner even shared screenshots of a burglary by the same man in another vehicle.
The Surprising Gift a Woman Left For the Thief Who Stole From Her
Collier decided to turn to what the bible has taught her. And even though the bible says, “Thou shall not steal,” it also says, “Love thy neighbor as yourself.”
That’s what I want to do. I want to love him, and I want to forgive him.
Jennifer Collier to FOX News
With that in mind she decided to leave a gift for him on her front porch steps in case the man came back to return the leaf blowers or attempt to steal something from their home again. She placed a Bible in a Ziploc bag for him. “We are disciples, so we want to show him what that looks like,” said Collier to FOX News.
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She added that she wanted to invite the man in to talk and assure him that she wouldn’t call the police and she wouldn’t press charges if their garden equipment was returned. The story demonstrates a powerful lesson in forgiveness for all of us.
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Pracitice forgiveness
“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.”
— Marianne Williamson
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