Grace walked before us this morning, pausing as she noticed that Winston and I may soon be following directly behind her. She was petite with black hair; I liked the color of her jacket and her matching striped scarf. Grace watched me stop for a moment while I wondered if she was afraid of dogs.

There are no shortages of sidewalks in our neighborhood so my first instinct was to cross the street and walk back home on that side just in case. I stayed put. Grace proceeded ahead and Winston and I  respectfully followed behind her pacing it so we were about three houses apart. She looked back a time or two which isn’t unusual when walking Winston, who in his big yellow lab muzzle of a mouth usually carries “his baby” which is an ugly old sock with a broken wiffleball tied inside.

When Grace reached the next corner she stopped and faced us. She was a young girl, I am guessing a 6th grader. We were about 15’ apart; Winston stayed at my side. I smiled and said, “This is Winston, he is 7 years old and he is very a nice dog.”

Grace said, “May I pet Winston?” Winston and I walked towards Grace, she rubbed the sides of his neck at first and then something beautiful and amazing happened; Grace knelt down and went nose to nose with Winston hugging and petting him while throwing him air kisses. This was pure love in action and quiet a pleasant surprise, so sweet and innocent yet awkward at the same time. I mentioned that Winston’s tail was wagging which meant he really likes her. I asked her her name and with a big smile on her face she jumped up, extended her right hand  and said, “My name is Grace”.  This was truly a moment of Grace, a touch of heaven on earth  for certain.

After our goodbye I felt an overwhelming joy come over me, tears filled my eyes and rolled down my cheeks as I said out loud, “Winston we just shared a Divine touch of Grace.”

  Thank You Grace, I can’t wait to see you again!