A Willing Heart



 I read an inspiring story this week.

A woman in Arkansas was out on a run with her dog when she was stopped by a 6-year old yelling and asking if she could pet her dog.

The woman paused next to the young girl and told her that she could certainly pet her dog as long as her parents okayed it.  

The girl then shyly explained that her dad had died and her mom was inside the funeral home behind her at her daddy's funeral.

Then, without prompting, the woman's dog, Blue, stepped up to the girl and sat in front of her.  She threw  her arms around his neck and just experienced that hug for several minutes.

According to the woman,  the girl's family and friends who had been observing didn't have a dry eye among them.

Finally, the sweet girl looked up and asked if the woman would like to go meet her dad.

Recognizing the importance of this last opportunity for the girl, the runner shrugged off her discomfort at wearing sweaty running clothes and took her hand and went to meet her dad.

What a beautiful woman who made the most of a precious opportunity to serve and lift another.  

She probably hadn't spent her morning on an elaborate service plan.  She just was ready to be guided in the moment. 

Antoine R Ivins explained, "If we serve with a willing heart because we love people and love to help them, the Lord will make us happy. In one of the scriptures which I read, it said, 'And they rejoiced because they contributed with a willing heart.' I think that is the secret of our happiness very much, brothers and sisters, the attitude which we have in the service which we render."

I couldn't agree more.

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