Muskogee Dad Goes Viral With A Little Salt, Lots Of Love

A Muskogee man is getting a lot of attention for something he did for his daughter this week that got posted on Facebook. All it took was a little salt and a lot of love.

"What I did was not anything that any other loving father wouldn't have done for their children,” said Rudy Bautista, “Really it was the Lord’s doing through me that made such a small act on my part and turned it into something big."

Rudy is talking about a photo posted on Facebook by his daughter Elizabeth, taken outside of the Muskogee Police department. The roads were slick with ice on Wednesday morning. So, Rudy beat his daughter to work, putting salt down on her path, so she would not slip.

"The Lord laid upon my heart to go out there because I had some salt and I said 'well I can do that,'” Rudy explained.

"I was just sent off thinking this is incredible," Elizabeth told News on 6, "and I just wanna be able to hold onto that and share it with people. I had no idea that I was going to explode immediately."

Since that photo was posted, Rudy has been called "father of the year" and even "the world's best dad." Elizabeth's post got shared hundreds of thousands of times, an act of love that has managed to warm hearts around the world this winter.

"I just feel like it is something the world needs right now. They needed something wholesome, they needed something filled with love and heartfelt," Elizabeth admitted.

Rudy said he did not do it for fame or notoriety, however, he and his daughter hope his act continues to inspire others to be kind.

"We have received so many messages from total strangers that have told us how much they’ve been touched by this and that they want to do better. So what I really hope to see out of all of this, is that happening," said Elizabeth.

Elizabeth also runs a ministry service to help people in need. She said because she has gotten so many new Facebook friends from her viral post, the ministry has received dozens of donations.