This is my beautiful new puppy, Keltie. She is a golden cocker spaniel, quite adorable and, like all new babies, incredibly labour intensive. Writing has taken a back seat since her arrival on the 4^thJanuary.

 

She is so filling the sad void left by the death of my lovely Tucker, eighteen months ago. But she 

 has also taught me a wonderful lesson: the JOY of forgiveness. 

Now, I believe in forgiveness - giving and getting. I know it is important for our mental and spiritual health; but I have always thought of it as my Christian duty, obligated as I am by Christ’s incomparable example. I try to forgive the trespasses of others because my own failures and sins have been wonderfully forgiven through Christ’s work of salvation. It is a logical quid pro quo, an admirable code of practice for life. But I have to admit that, more often than not, I find it a struggle, even a grind, a daily work-in-progress.

 

But wee Keltie has a very different take on the art of forgiveness. 

Puppy-like, she follows me everywhere, sticking to me like clue and constantly getting under my feet - literally. At least three times a day I tramp on her paw or her tail, and she emits a bloodcurdling squeal which fills me with horrified contrition. ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry, wee one,’ I exclaim. Does she growl, sulk, walk away, snap or bark angrily? No, she instantly forgives me. But, so much more than that: she goes into a paroxysm of wriggling, licking, tail-wagging joy, bestowing her instant and complete forgiveness upon me, and positively delighting to do so. 

 

She has taught me that forgiveness can be more that a duty or a quid-pro-quo obligation. It can be an act of joyful love. I may still have bitter feelings towards someone who has wronged or hurt me, but I can take delight in forgiving them. Virtue - or forgiveness - truly can be its own reward: actual JOY!