“Blessed is the one whose fault is removed,
whose sin is forgiven.” Psalm 32:1

We had one close neighbor when I was growing up. Our neighbors had a boy a few years younger than me and my brother. His parents would buy him the top of the line toy trucks and construction equipment. We envied his splashy, large *Tonka Toys.

The thing is, our neighbor boy, wasn’t all that interested in his Tonka Toys. And so my older brother and I would occasionally,  take  his bright and unused, Tonka Toys,  and put them in our sandbox. If he happened to come over to play, and mention they looked like his, we assured him they were not. In retrospect, I wonder, why his parents and/or my parents let us do that? Periodically, the toys would move back to his sandbox, only to repeat the cycle a few weeks later.

For years, I have felt guilty about taking his toys, and pretending they were ours. Recently, I saw my old neighbor at a funeral.  While we were conversing,  I mentioned how bad I felt about taking his Tonka Toys and putting them in our sandbox.

Much to my surprise, he had no memory of this happening. I’m grateful for whatever grace allowed him to forget.  Indeed,  “Blessed is the one whose fault is removed.”.

*Tonka Toys – Wiki Wikipedia