Once again let me point you in the direction of another blog, if you find it difficult to cope with animals and theological reflection. This one is particularly good, http://philgroom.wordpress.com/tag/phil-groom/ and I commend it to you.

It is now 51 days since Frodo has his back right leg amputated due to bone cancer. He is thriving.

This is him this morning – yawning in the snow after a hard night before. Hard being a vicar’s dog.

Thriving? After all, here is a dog who is a greyhound/deerhound lurcher who is used to chasing around with his brother, running through fields, streams and woods. Admittedly, that was easier to do when I was in Cumbria. Frodo, unlike my rotund self, is an athlete.

He is thriving in that he is eating, sleeping, walking, running (yes in the snow this has been the case), chasing feline creatures and enjoying the attention of Bartley Green.

Frodo seems to be content to do all that he can do, without (it seems) lamenting what he cannot do. As always, dogs seem to have the knack of putting their paw on something.

I have wasted a lot of life admiring others and wanting to be like them. I have sometimes strained too much to do what I cannot do, and therefore lost sight of my own abilities and end up not doing those things that I am good at.

If only I understood that to thrive does not mean to be perfect.