It has been a long past couple of months at the Diary Dairy here in Clearfield. The new shop has been a great addition to the community. I have been honored to be the General Manager. As Melissa's mother, I cannot tell you how proud I am of my daughter for all she has done through the Diary Dairy and the ministry it brings.Over the last several months, both the State College and Clearfield staff have listened to the customers talk about their perspectives on everything that's been happening at Penn State. I'm pretty sure Melissa and her crew have fielded more questions since they're in the heart of the matter, being in State College. However, we, here at the Clearfield shop have had our own share of people telling us what they think.
Currently, we have had customers discussing the issue with the Joe Paterno statue. It is a very touchy subject, and I want to say up front that I, in no way, intend to offend anyone with this entry. In fact, I will try to keep my personal opinions about the matter out. My goal here is to offer the universal perspective of the Clearfield and State College staff, by using an example of something we've learned late last year.
Last fall, the Diary Dairy staff learned an important lesson. Whenever someone is accused of doing something wrong, they are innocent until proven... In other words, they could be proven innocent or guilty. I sat down and talked this through with one of the employees, Gavin. I would like to share with you what we talked about. Before I do, let me set up the situation for you.
Our register was acting up shortly after the new shop opened. Sometimes the computer would freeze and we wouldn't be able to use the register. One time when I was working on the deposit, I came up short. There was money missing from the register drawer. Gavin accused Ginny (another employee) of stealing the money because he knew she was saving up for a vacation, and had seen her fumbling with the register on more than one occasion. One morning, we asked our computer maintenance man to come and see if he could take a look at the computer and register. While he was working, he found a wad of cash that was hidden behind the register drawer where it was impossible for us to see without moving everything. It was the exact amount I was missing the day I did the deposit. It turned out that Ginny was innocent the whole time. I'll be honest with you like I was with Gavin. There was a time when I questioned whether or not Ginny had taken the money, even though I had no proof.
I think Gavin and I both learned an important lesson, and I would like to share that lesson with you now:
“Gavin, I was doing the deposit not long ago
and wound up thirteen dollars short.
I had a feeling Ginny could’ve possibly been behind it, but didn’t want
to accuse her without knowing all the facts. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if I had told Melissa
I was sure Ginny was responsible?
What do you think would’ve happened?”
“Melissa
could’ve just believed you and fired Ginny.”
“Right. Let’s pretend that Melissa did just
that. Well, earlier today, we
found the thirteen dollars hiding behind the cash register drawer.”
“Are
you serious?”
“Yes,
I’m serious. How do you think it
would have made Melissa feel, knowing now that Ginny was innocent all along?”
“She
probably would’ve felt like an idiot.”
Judy
nodded. “It also would have shown
that Melissa didn’t trust Ginny.
That could have backfired on Melissa and permanently destroyed a
friendship.”
“Yeah,
I get it.”
“Oh,
it doesn’t end there.”
“It
doesn’t?”
“If
you were in Ginny’s shoes, wouldn’t you want to seek revenge on Melissa and
hire a lawyer to take your case?
Melissa could’ve ended up in an even deeper mess that would’ve had the
potential to put an end to her business.”
Gavin
didn’t speak. He was too busy
soaking in all the scenarios that Judy was presenting to him. He got it. He really got it.
“Now,
even if Ginny was responsible for stealing money and messing up the computer,
shouldn’t we show forgiveness rather than judgment?”
“Yeah,
I guess so.”
“Honey,
I hope you know so. I believe we
should choose love and mercy over hatred and bitterness more often than
not.”
“Yeah,
you’re right. I think, next time,
I should get all the facts before I go accusing someone of doing something
wrong. It sounds simple, but it’s
a good rule to live by. That way,
there’s no firing of employees and no courtrooms involved.”
“You
got it, Gavin. You got it.”
As readers and viewers of the news, I don't think any of us are going to know the FULL story or the ENTIRE truth. Until we know the WHOLE truth, I don't think it's necessary for us to point fingers at ANYONE. Whether or not Joe Paterno made a mistake, I think it's important for us to show forgiveness rather than judgment. Unless we were in Joe Paterno's shoes, do we really have a right to say whether or not he made any mistakes? What do you think? Something to ponder.
Written By:
Mrs. Bell aka Melissa's mother
General Manager of the Clearfield Diary Dairy
