A Story of Forgiveness

When Mark heard the barking and hissing, he knew his cat was in deep trouble. He ran outside and found Nudge, wet, bloody, and frightened. When the cat saw the man who loved him, he relaxed. A dog had attacked Nudge and the dog’s owner, Natalie, was yelling for the dog to return to her.
 
Natalie and Mark met face to face. She could do nothing but apologize. Mark was stricken. For two days the vet kept Nudge alive. But the moment to say goodbye arrived. Mark asked the woman to pay for his vet bill; it was only fair that she should. Natalie explained she had lost her job and home and was staying with a friend.

Mark thought about that. He was a Christian, and the bill would not be easy to pay. He decided to forgive her the debt on the condition she would promise to come to one LC3 church service. He also told her about the LC3 food bank.

When Natalie came for food, the greeter recognized she was from Eastern Europe. The Community Garden needed a representative from that demographic. Natalie was delighted to be offered the opportunity to grow her own food. When she explained how she heard about the food bank, the greeter showed Natalie around the church so she would know what to expect if she came to church. Sure enough, she kept her promise. Natalie is now regularly attending LC3!

How wonderful to know that opportunities to show forgiveness and the love of Christ abound, and that God doesn’t waste our griefs and sorrows.

The names in this true story have been changed, except for Nudge - that’s his real name.