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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
Psalm 139:14 NIV
I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Matt. 6:14 NIV
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you.
He was lost, but now he was found. He was sick and dying, yet today, he was alive and thriving. All in the blinking of a wolf's keen eye, everything changed, and Mottsie owed it all to David.
The two gray wolves bonded as though they had been birthed into the same pack. Together, they discovered a small den, in the cleft of a rock, and took shelter from the whipping winter wind. Wrapped in thick and furry coats, the foundling and the rescuer became fast friends.
The regal gray wolf listened to Mottsie with patience and understanding. As David spoke, Mottsie fine-
tuned his ears to to every word. He had not known a wolf so wise, not even Sennu. David was wise and kingly, as though he were ages old. Mottsie was not sure where David came from, but he was at peace in his presence and that was all that mattered.
Smiling and wagging his tail, Mottsie focused on his teacher. " I like your stories," he said to the regal gray wolf. "Especially when you talk about love."
Well pleased with Mottsie's eagerness to learn, David began his morning lesson. "Love?" he said. "Well, Mottsie, love is everything! Love, you see, is never rude, nor mean. It doesn't get in a hurry and it bears no grudge."
Mottsie remained still. Not a whisker wiggled. He listened attentively, opening his ears and his heart.
"And the very best thing about love," David continued," it always forgives."
Mottsie's insides began to rumble and shake. He felt as though he had swallowed a rock. One large tear trickled from his eye and bounced off the side of his nose. Sudden flash-backs, of the hunters shooting at Sennu, pounded inside his head. Covering his face with his large white paws, he gulped back sobs of hurt and grief. " I cannot forgive man for robbing me of my sister," he cried.
Tenderly, David lay a majestic paw across Mottsie's shoulder. " I understand how you feel, my friend. I know how deeply you were hurt, but you must forgive, Mottsie. Not until you forgive can you be free within yourself," he said.
"How can that be?" Mottsie asked.
" As we walk in love," David explained," extending love to all creatures, we find that it is love that heals us."
" But it is hard to love someone who has done wrong to me," Mottsie confided. " And, besides, how do you know so much about love, David?"
For a moment, the regal gray wolf appeared distant, as though he could see into another world. " I know about love, Mottsie," he said, " because I have a good teacher. My father, the Greater One, is the author of love."
Eyes wide, ears tall, Mottsie moved closer to the wise and regal wolf that spoke with great authority.
"Mottsie, my brother, my friend, it is the Greater One who sent me to this wilderness to find you."
Puzzled, Mottsie asked," why would anyone want to find a wolf like me?"
David smiled. " The Greater One wanted you to know just how precious and valuable you are. He wanted you to know that you are loved."
Within one full year of life, Mottsie had not experienced such love. Not from Sennu, nor anyone. "Oh, I wish I could be free of this hurt I have in my heart," he cried. "It's too heavy for me to carry and the anger----I don't want to be angy anymore---but I don't know how to be free of it," he said, wiping another tear from his eye.
" Can you find it in your heart to forgive man for his injustice to you?" asked the regal gray wolf.
"Maybe I can," Mottsie said, " maybe if I stay close to you, David." Mottsie knew David to be the very essence of love. After all, he was lost and lonely, weak and hungry and David came and rescued him. It was David who provided shelter for him within this rock. Mottsie's heart swelled with love for his friend. He wasn't sure how to show him or how to tell him, but he wanted to.
David looked upon the young gray wolf, his eyes tender and serene. "I love you, Mottsie, just the way you are. You are a unique and wonderful wolf!"
Mottsie's nose itched, his ears twitched and his whiskers wiggled. "Unique? Me?," he questioned. He couldn't believe his ears.
" There's no other wolf on earth like you," David said.
Mottsie's heart fluttered and flopped. All at once, he broke into a great and gigantic grin, exposing every tooth in his mouth. He jumped and leaped and spun around in circles. It had been a very long time since he felt giddy and goofy and silly, all at the same time.
"I'm not worthy of such love, David, but I like it," he said. "Love is nice."
"Indeed it is," David assured him. "Love is everything."
" If love is everything," Mottsie said, then love is the only thing I want in my heart." Mottsie hesitated, then mustering all the courage he could find, he spoke. "I forgive them----the hunters, and I forgive my brothers too, for all their meaness to me."
"Mottsie," said the regal gray wolf, " you have learned a most valuable lesson. In forgiving, you are forgiven. For it is love that heals us and fills all our empty places. Love is everything, yet, even more, my friend,----you will see, love never fails!"
