As a child, I would sometimes become unreasonably upset over making a mistake. I thought I was supposed to do everything right.

“Nobody’s perfect,” my mother would remind me.

The older I get, the more I realize how right she was. And I realize the important part about messing up is asking for forgiveness, correcting the wrong, and using the experience to help avoid such mistakes in the future.

A perfect example is a situation faced by a local couple recently. The couple, Joe and Judy Perkins, bought land off Highway 31 in the area known as Cooper to open an automobile salvage yard.

A trailer they borrowed to help move merchandise was stolen. The Perkins’ filed a police report but soon gave up hope on ever recovering the trailer. Joe Perkins went ahead and bought his friend a new one.

But then, 9 1/2 years later, whoever stole the trailer returned it.

The trailer was refurbished—a new coat of paint, floor, tires, rims were put on, and a winch was installed that wasn’t originally on the trailer—and a note was left explaining how the offender had accepted Christianity and returned the trailer in an effort to make up for past transgressions.

After talking with Mr. Perkins, it seems he has forgiven the person who stole the trailer. And many positive comments were posted below the story on our website, clantonadvertiser.com.

The case of the stolen and returned trailer is further proof that forgiveness can be had if it’s asked for, and that we can make up for the mistakes of our past.

–Dawkins is the assistant managing editor of The Clanton Advertiser.