Forgiveness

On Friday morning, the washing machine delivery man rang to say he'd be with us in half an hour. Top marks to them for getting it sorted ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, this was Good Friday, and the delivery address was not our home but Marine Services at Great Haywood marina. Not much chance of anyone being there to receive it! His response to being reminded it was a Bank Holiday was surprise that it should matter – they didn't get any days off. "But no hassle", he said, "just ring the company to re-schedule it." Which I did, equally surprised that there would be anyone there to take my call, and respond to my follow-up email. I just hope their enthusiasm for a timely delivery doesn't get them to Great Haywood on Wednesday before the boys start work.

The phone calls meant I missed the central part of an interesting BBC programme on forgiveness. This may be a key theme of the Easter story, but it's been especially emphasised this year in things that I've seen or been a part of. Forgiveness seems to have been a crucial element in Ruanda recovering from the tragedies of the 1994 genocide. Personally, I want to hope that it will also play a significant role in the aftermath of the current troubles in North Africa and the Middle East.