by Staff Writer Jennifer Grimes

He was my first puppy.

I was thirteen or fourteen when I fell in love with him. My family had finally moved out of a rental house and on to a nice piece of land, a place where we would be able to get a dog.

We picked out the most adorable border collie, and he became my best (animal) friend.

But within three months, he was gone- disappeared without a trace. I was pretty torn up about it. It makes me feel embarrassed to tell you about how I cried and cried over him, and how I felt so angry at God for taking away the one thing I wanted. But, looking back, I was just a kid then. In fact, in the span of those few months, I grew up a lot. I realized that I had to trust God for everything, and I realized that I had to forgive.

After days of looking for Levi, we gave up. It was a lost cause. That’s what we thought, anyway.

A few months later, he reappeared in a neighbor’s yard. Of course, I assumed they had taken him. I was furious. We had asked them at least once if they had seen him. Had they kept him this whole time? He still had his old collar on, but the tag that said his name and our phone number was missing. Was that just coincidence? How could it have come off on its own?

So I had Levi back, but I had bitterness along with him. Whenever we drove by our neighbor’s house, I couldn’t look at it. If I did, I would glare at it, as if that would somehow exact the revenge I was craving. Every time I looked at my dog, I would think about those neighbors who stole him.

In reality, I didn’t know if they had stolen him or not. But I was finally glad to have someone to blame. Until one day, as we were driving by their house, I looked at it in a different way. God caught me for a moment, and I realized that I was being completely unfair. In my head, I understood that I needed to forgive them for something that they may or may not have done. But my heart said no.

I remembered that God tells us to forgive others, because He has forgiven us. That thought changed me. Silently, I forgave those neighbors. In that moment, I felt a huge release. I didn’t have to hold on to bitterness anymore.

Maybe this story seems silly to you, and that’s okay. But I think this story shows that everyone, you and me, have different stories to tell. Likewise, we have different stories of forgiveness. My story is just about a puppy, but, for me, it is so much more. And really it doesn’t matter how or when you chose to forgive someone. The important thing is that you do forgive. Don’t waste your time like I did, holding on to bitterness and anger.

God forgives you for all that you have done wrong; it is time that you forgive others.

Jennifer Grimes, 17, lives in the hot and humid state of Texas. Besides writing, she enjoys hanging out with her family, playing outside with her two dogs, reading good books, and eating lots of chocolate. Most importantly, she has devoted her life to Christ and strives every day to serve God boldly.