Tennis Balls and Cookies

Most days my companion and I walk past Max, a friendly border collie who loves to play catch. For a few minutes each day, we repeat the same routine: Max will search the yard for his tennis ball, drop it near us on the ground, and then wait attentively for us to pull it through the chain-link fence and throw it.

Max...or at least a Border Collie
that looks like Max

For a time we had to shout to Max to go get his ball. Now he is so used to us coming by (and usually at the same time of day) that he is ready and waiting for us when we arrive. His otherwise monotonous day is interrupted by a few moments of canine bliss. And while we may look silly tossing a tennis ball in our white shirts and ties, the experience has given us several opportunities to visit with passersby.

Max is not so different from any one of us. Like Max, we yearn for attention. We long for those moments that make us happy. For some, like Max, those moments may come infrequently. For others—too often, it seems—those moments do not come at all.

Throughout the world people are swimming in sorrow, drowning in doubt, limping along in loneliness. There is far too much unhappiness and confusion. There is not enough joy and understanding. When we are selfish, we contribute to our own unhappiness and to the unhappiness of others. But when we exercise charity—the pure love of Christ—we can be a stepping stone toward somebody's happiness instead of a stumbling block.

Ironically, we find happiness by losing ourselves in the service of others. Philosopher Mahatma Gandhi taught this truth—

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me."

Service need not be complicated. I brighten Max's day by throwing a tennis ball. You can make a stranger happy by saying "Hello" or opening the door for him or her. You can make a friend's sour day sweeter by baking him a plate of cookies. You can comfort someone in sorrow by listening to her. You can inspire in others deep feelings of gratitude by serving them anonymously.

As we serve, let us all remember the Savior's admonition—

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)