Every Friday I try to do what’s commonly called a “games day” for children I work with. This involves playing Uno, doing group games, and having fun with my balls from America.

And every week a boy asks me to pump up his ball

His problem is a common one in Saint Vincent. The tube on the inside of the ball will often become detached from the tough outer layer. When this happens, it is almost impossible to pump up the ball since you cannot line up the hole to put the needle into.

One Friday I wasn’t able to find the hole and didn’t pump it up (Much to his frustration). So I decided to see if the hole could be found next week.

Carefully that Friday I put the needle against the inner tube searching for the hole

And immediately punctured it!

The tube was so weak the slight pressure I was making pierced through the ball, making it useless.

I turned to the boy with a deflated ball in my hands and he immediately asked “what did you do!”

Right there I apologized for ruining his ball, and we conducted a business transaction. He could choose one of my balls from America to replace it, or I would buy him a new football.

Sadly nobody in life is perfect, we will all make mistakes sometimes. When this happens the first words out of our mouth should be “I am sorry”, followed by “How can I make this right?”

It is true that the boy was to be blamed for some of this situation

1. He refused to cut away the tough outer hide of the football so the tube could still be inflated
2. He pressured me to try to pump it up again, even though I warned him about the consequences
3. And he could afforded to purchase a new one
   

but none of that changes the fact that I was wrong

Often in life we can make excuses instead owning what we have done wrong. Clinging to the 95% of what that person did, and ignoring the 5% that we did. But as we admit our mistakes, the Gospel is proclaimed, and God is honored.

Tuesday I bought the boy the biggest red football I could find (then acting as if I had forgotten before giving it to him). Seeing his joy reminded me just how powerful the phrase “how can I make this right?” Is