5-Year-Old Boy Brings Smiles and Joy On His Daily Walks Around Town

A 5-year-old boy brings smiles and joy on his daily walks around town. And if you happen to live within three blocks of Harvey Wetterlund in Hastings, Minnesota, there is a good chance you’re getting a hug, a cookie, or an enthusiastic “I love you,” whether you were prepared for it or not.

5-Year-Old Harvey Turns Daily Walks Into Acts of Kindness

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Harvey is a little guy with strawberry blond, curly hair and apparently on a one-boy mission to make his corner of the world happier. When Harvey moved with his parents, Joy and Ryan Wetterlund, from Washington state to Hastings two years ago, he was the new kid in town.

So he did what any wildly outgoing 5-year-old might do. He started making the town his own. “Morning walk!” Harvey announces before taking off down the sidewalk with his mom.

His Three-Block Route Is Filled With Friends

Their route is only about three square blocks, but distance isn't really the point. The people are. At the Hastings fire station, Harvey rushes inside yelling, “Hi, Miss Penne!” Before handing out chocolate chip cookies he helped bake and dispensing hugs to firefighters.

“I love you,” he tells them. Then it is on to Froth & Cork, where 79-year-old Bob Ruedy is one of Harvey’s buddies.

“One day he came in here, and he had two dandelions,” Bob said. “And he gave me one, and he said, ‘Take your wife one home, too.’” And that’s because dandelions are weeds to this kid; they’re still full of magic and wonder, and they become a bountiful bouquet when they’re given with love. 

5-Year-Old Boy Brings Joy On His Walks

Harvey's route includes police officers, mechanics, and just about anyone else willing to receive some joy. He holds doors open for strangers. He pumps his arms at passing truckers until they answer with booming airhorns. During a snowstorm, he even helped clear the steps at the coffee shop with his Tonka trucks.

But there is a tender story beneath Harvey's enormous capacity for compassion. When Harvey was about 2½, his father Ryan’s Hodgkin lymphoma returned.

“It just taught him compassion at a young age,” Joy said. “He doesn't do it just 10 percent; he does it 100 percent and over.”

Today, Ryan is cancer-free, and a smiley face hangs in Harvey’s bedroom window. Maybe Harvey learned something through those difficult years that some of us spend a lifetime learning: joy is something worth sprouting and then giving away.

“He makes everybody smile,” mechanic Scott Corwin said. Jesus told us to love our neighbors, and sometimes we make that calling complicated. Harvey makes it look beautifully simple.

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One Little Boy Shows How Simple Loving Others Can Be

He simply does it: Walk outside. Notice people. Bring the cookies. Give away the dandelion. Hold the door. Hug your friends. Tell people you love them.

Harvey's world is only three blocks wide right now. But goodness, look how much light one little boy can fit inside it.

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10

WATCH: 5-Year-Old Boy Brings Smiles and Joy On His Daily Walks Around Town 

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h/t: KARE 11 News

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/KARE 11

Heather Riggleman is a believer, wife, mom, author, social media consultant, and full-time writer. She lives in Minden, Nebraska with her kids, high school sweetheart, and three cats who are her entourage around the homestead. She is a former award-winning journalist with over 2,000 articles published. She is full of grace and grit, raw honesty, and truly believes tacos can solve just about any situation. You can find her on GodUpdates, iBelieve, Crosswalk, Hello Darling, Focus On The Family, and in Brio Magazine. Connect with her at www.HeatherRiggleman.com or on Facebook.