A frustrated mom, who got stuck in a grocery store’s parking lot after her car died, shared a story online about an unexpected encounter during a particularly tough day.
Read her post, which has since gone viral, below.
Tawny Nelson
I am the single mother of four absolutely beautiful little girls. They are 9, 5, 2, and 6 weeks. And things have been particularly rough since my ex left.
My truck had a flat I constantly had to air up. The driver side window motor died. And I needed a new alternator belt. The truck was a mess. And we didn’t drive anywhere unless we had to.
Well the other day we desperately needed to go to the store. So we loaded up and drove to the Winn Dixie about 9 blocks away.
When we got out of the store it was far after dark. And POURING rain.
I loaded my kids and groceries into the truck. Tried to crank it…… Nothing. No click. Nothing.
One of my girls had accidentally left a light on. My battery was dead. My phone was also disconnected. I have no family to speak of and was on my own.
I got out and opened my hood to be sure my battery hadn’t come loose. Nope.
I must have asked more than twenty people in the course of two hours for a jump. They all ignored me. Not even a no. Just acted like i didn’t exist.
My 5 Year old was melting down. My newborn SCREAMING, my two year old crying she was hungry, and my oldest desperately trying to help.
I was bawling and felt like the worst Mom ever.
Then I got a knock on the passenger window. An older gentleman (he was 74) with a cane and a bad limp was on the other side of that knock.
I opened the door. He handed me a plate of chicken strips and biscuits from the deli and bottles of water.
‘Feed those babies and yourself young lady. I have a tow truck on the way and my wife will be here shortly to take y’all home.’
Sure enough she arrived followed by the tow truck. Us and our truck were taken home.
The next morning the gentleman returned to my house with a mechanic who replaced my battery and alternator and fixed my window.
The elderly gentleman then left and did not return. When I asked what I owed the mechanic and if I could make payments he smiled telling me the older man had paid for all of it.
He said that the only payment the older man wanted was for me to never give up and keep being an amazing mom.
I’ve never cried so hard in my life. Things had been absolutely awful. More so than I care to explain.
And without knowing us or our situation this kind man helped us in ways he will never know.
What he did revived my faith when I was falling apart. But he wouldn’t even take a hug.
I’ll never be able to thank him. But I certainly hope one day I can do what he did for me for someone else.
Despite the constant bad news in the media, there are still many kindhearted citizens ready to lend a helping hand to those in need.
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Every Saturday, Grandpa and I walked to the nursing home a few blocks away from our house.
Mom didn’t like it because I would skip playing with my friends so I could be with Grandpa even on a Saturday. We went to visit many of the old and sick people who lived there because they couldn’t take care of themselves anymore.
“Whoever visits the sick gives them life,” Grandpa always said.
First we visited Mrs. Sokol. I called her “The Cook.” She liked to talk about the time when she was a well-known cook back in Russia. People would come from miles around, just to taste her famous chicken soup.
Next we visited Mr. Meyer. I called him “The Joke Man.” We sat around his coffee table, and he told us jokes. Some were very funny. Some weren’t. And some I didn’t get. He laughed at his own jokes, shaking up and down and turning red in the face. Grandpa and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him, even when the jokes weren’t very funny.
Next door was Mr. Lipman. I called him “The Singer” because he loved to sing for us. Whenever he did, his beautiful voice filled the air, clear and strong and so full of energy that we always sang along with him.
We visited Mrs. Kagan, “The Grandmother,” who showed us pictures of her grandchildren. They were all over the room, in frames, in albums and even taped to the walls.
Mrs. Schrieber’s room was filled with memories, memories that came alive as she told us stories of her own experiences during the old days. I called her “The Memory Lady.”
Then there was Mr. Krull, “The Quiet Man.” He didn’t have very much to say; he just listened when Grandpa or I talked to him. He nodded and smiled, and told us to come again next week. That’s what everyone said to Grandpa and me, even the woman in charge, behind the desk.
Every week we did come again, even in the rain. We walked together to visit our friends: The Cook, The Joke Man, The Singer, The Grandmother, The Memory Lady and The Quiet Man.
One day Grandpa got very sick and had to go to the hospital. The doctors said they didn’t think he would ever get better.
Saturday came, and it was time to visit the nursing home. How could I go visiting without Grandpa? Then I remembered what he once told me: “Nothing should stand in the way of doing a good deed.” So I went alone. Whoever visits the sick gives them life.
Everyone was happy to see me. They were surprised when they didn’t see Grandpa. When I told them that he was sick and in the hospital, they could tell I was sad.
The Cook went on to reveal some of her secret ingredients. The Joke Man told me his latest jokes. The Singer sang a song especially for me. The Grandmother showed me more pictures. The Memory Lady shared more of her memories. When I visited The Quiet Man, I asked him lots of questions. When I ran out of questions, I talked about what I had learned in school.
After a while, I said goodbye to everyone, even the woman in charge, behind the desk.
“Thank you for coming,” she said. “May your grandfather have a complete recovery.”
A few days later, Grandpa was still in the hospital. He was not eating, he could not sit up and he could barely speak. I went to the corner of the room so Grandpa wouldn’t see me cry. My mother took my place by the bed and held Grandpa’s hand. The room was dim and very quiet.
Suddenly the nurse came into the room and said, “You have some visitors.”
“Is this the place with the party?” I heard a familiar voice ask.
I looked up. It was The Joke Man. Behind him were The Cook, The Singer, The Grandmother, The Memory Lady, The Quiet Man and even the woman in charge, behind the desk.
The Cook told Grandpa about all the great food that she would cook for him once he got well. She had even brought him a hot bowl of homemade chicken soup.
“Chicken soup? What this man needs is a pastrami sandwich,” said The Joke Man as he let out one of his deep, rich laughs.
Everyone laughed with him. Then he told us some new jokes. By the time he was finished, everyone had to use tissues to dry their eyes from laughing so hard.
Next, The Grandmother showed Grandpa a get-well card made by two of her granddaughters. On the front of one card was a picture of a clown holding balloons. “Get well soon!” was scribbled in crayon on the inside.
The Singer started singing, and we all sang along with him. The Memory Lady told us how Grandpa once came to visit her in a snowstorm, just to bring her some roses for her birthday.
Before I knew it, visiting hours were up. Everyone said a short prayer for Grandpa. Then they said goodbye and told him that they would see him again soon.
That evening, Grandpa called the nurse in and said he was hungry. Soon he began to sit up. Finally he was able to get out of bed. Each day, Grandpa felt better and better, and he grew stronger and stronger. Soon he was able to go home.
The doctors were shocked. They said his recovery was a medical miracle. But I knew the truth: His friends’ visit had made him well. Whoever visits the sick gives them life.
Grandpa is better now. Every Saturday, without fail, we walk together to visit our friends: The Cook, The Joke Man, The Singer, The Grandmother, The Memory Lady, The Quiet Man … and the woman in charge, behind the desk.
So sweet! SHARE if that brought a tear to your eye!
Mother Theresa captured the sentiment best when she said that “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” People everywhere have discovered that even the smallest gesture of kindness can mean the world to others.
James Johnston encourages others to try and make the world a brighter place after he experienced the beauty that comes from one simple random act of kindness. James owns J&J Lawn Service in West Virginia and was driving home from a job one day when he was struck with the urge to help someone he spied who was struggling.
Facebook/J&J Lawn Service
An older gentleman was having difficulty mowing his lawn. The yard was quite expansive and he only had a push mower with which to knock down the tall grass.
James had just spent 12 hours cutting other people’s lawns. He was ready to head home and relax.
But he just felt an indescribable pull toward the property and the man. There was no way he was going to allow this poor guy to tackle the huge project by himself, James said.
Facebook/J&J Lawn Service
He wrote on Facebook:
“So I turned around and went back and unloaded my mower and drove across the street and asked the gentleman if I could help. His eyes lit up and I took that as a yes. I ran down, jumped on my mower and went to work.”
While James was chopping down the tall grass with his business mower, he glanced over and saw the man who apparently seemed exhausted. He was by his wife, resting his head on her shoulder.
It didn’t long for the professional mower to wrap up the project. When he was done, James turned to give the couple a thumbs up, indicating he was done, and loaded up his equipment.
Before he could leave though, the wife made her way over to James. She profusely thanked him for what he had done.
Their riding mower was broken and they didn’t have the money to fix it. So her husband had been using their small push mower on their huge yard.
“It only took 15 minutes of my time but I changed their life for a small moment. I hope someone reads this and feels like doing something good for someone tomorrow. I’m grateful to be where I’m at and I’m thankful for the people that helped me get here.”Facebook/James Johnston
James couldn’t get the couple out of his mind on his drive home, so he decided to do something else for them. The very next day he launched a GoFundMe page to drum up enough money to buy them a riding mower.
He even plunked down some of his own money on behalf of his company and encouraged other businesses to match his donation. He wanted to prove that there are good people in this world willing to help others.
In just a short amount of time they not only reached their goal of $1,000, they surpassed it. Life will hopefully now be a little easier for the couple with the help they’ll be receiving.
It was fate that led James past that family’s home and his heart of gold that prompted him to stop. What an awesome thing he did!
Alex Denman was born with Bilateral Moderate Sensorineural hearing loss. This diagnosis meant that from the moment he was welcomed into this world and for five long months, Alex was nearly deaf. Small moments many of us would take for granted, like the chirp of a bird or the whistle of the wind, were things Alex never got experience. So when it came time to fit the bubbly little five-month-old with his first pair of hearing aids, his parents were overjoyed but apprehensive. They knew all of the strange sounds could be overwhelming at first, but they also knew it was the beginning of the rest of their son’s life. Mom and Dad had no idea he would have such a heartwarming reaction to hearing a very special sound for the first time.
YouTube
As soon as the technicians switched on Alex’s hearing aid, a small grin spread across his face. They made sure to keep the volume on low as to not startle him and watched cautiously while he surveyed the room. It wasn’t until Alex’s mother, Jen, cooed to him, ‘Hey. It’s Mummy. Mummy. Hey, are you taking it all in? Yeah. Yeah,’ that the boy’s huge smile lit up the room. Hearing his parents’ voice for the first time was more than exciting for this sweet little one.
YouTube
Jen later shared the footage of her son’s sweet reaction online, and soon thousands of people were watching Alex’s appointment on camera. While she loved the kindness was shown, Jen told the British talk show This Morning that the attention shocked her, “It was only meant for family and friends. And it just went crazy [from there].” Everyone just loved watching this precious moment unfold! Take a peek at this adorable clip for yourself below. We wish the entire Denman family a lifetime of happiness, laughter, and love!
By the time the sailor pulled into a little town every hotel room was taken. “You’ve got to have a room somewhere,” he pleaded. “Or just a bed, I don’t care where.”
“Well, I do have a double room with one occupant – an Air Force guy,” admitted the manager, “and he might be glad to split the cost. But to tell you the truth, he snores so loudly that people in adjoining rooms have complained in the past. I’m not sure it’d be worth it to you.”
“No problem,” the tired Navy man assured him. “I’ll take it.”
The next morning, the sailor came down to breakfast bright-eyed and bushy tailed. “How’d you sleep” asked the manager. “Never better.” The manager was impressed. “No problem with the other guy snoring?” “Nope. I shut him up in no time,” said the Navy guy.
“How’d you manage that?” asked the manager.
“He was already in bed, snoring away, when I came in the room,” the sailor explained. “I went over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, ‘Goodnight beautiful,’ …and he sat up all night watching me.”
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Even the most patient person can become frazzled with the hassles of airline travel. It seems as if the worst part of any vacation is actually getting to your destination. Long airport security queues, crying babies, and delayed flights only adds to everyone’s overall frustration level.
While no one wants to get stuck sitting next to an intoxicated or belligerent individual, thankfully these are usually the folks that are the first to get kicked off a busy flight. If you’re neither of these, then you might think you’re safe from getting the boot.
But, sometimes the person that a flight attendant chooses to harass is the last person you’d expect. In fact, fashion and lifestyle blogger Mackenzie Murphy was shocked by who the flight crew picked on during a recent flight.
Here is what she witnessed firsthand:
A mom of twins was traveling alone with her babies when life threw her an enormous curveball…
Let’s face it, people can and will get really annoyed when someone else’s baby starts crying on an airplane. So, it’s no surprise to learn that when a mother with newborn twins was about to get kicked off a plane, no one came to her aid. A quiet and peaceful flight probably sounded like a much better alternative than helping someone in need.
At first, Mackenzie was saddened by the situation that was unfolding just a couple of rows away.
“Yesterday, this woman on my flight had twin babies, probably under 6 months, not so sure of the age. It was a very packed flight so they started taking carry on luggage to store under the plane. A gate worker took this woman’s car seat, meaning she would now have to hold both babies since they weren’t old enough to sit up on their own in a seat.”
As soon as the mother sat down, the flight attendant told the woman that she wasn’t allowed to hold on to both babies – it would be a safety hazard. It appears that the mother’s original intention was for one of her twins to sit in the car seat next to her, which airlines will allow if there are open seats on the flight.
Since the flight was fully packed, this poor mom was told that she would have to leave.
However, it didn’t take long for Mackenzie’s faith in humanity to be restored. A complete stranger spoke up, and came to this mother’s rescue.
“A mother sitting in front of me, with permission from the other mother, volunteered to hold one of her babies for the entire flight. Keep in mind this was a flight that was supposed to be a quick 45 minutes. We ended up sitting on the tarmac for 2 1/2 hours! Without a complaint this woman fed the other woman’s baby, burped him.”
Incredibly, the stranger also fed the other woman’s baby, and burped him too. Way to go, surrogate mom!
Facebook/Mackenzie Murphy
However, the surrogate mom actually had a daughter of her own that was sitting in the seat next to her. Understandably, the little girl was jealous of the new kid sitting in her mommy’s lap, who was now getting all the attention.
“Her own daughter started crying. This mom, so calmly, went on to explain to her young daughter that “our job is to help other people. This mom is all by herself with no help, and really needs another mom to help.” She then went on to hold him, sing him songs, and then he slept the entire flight without even a cry.”
This is such a heartwarming story! It was so selfless and caring for the stranger to step in and offer to help. Not only that, but she also taught her own young daughter a lesson in humanity.
The moral of this story is a simple one, but one that we sometimes tend to forget – when you see someone that needs help, do the right thing and help them!
Losing a child before you really even get a chance to meet them is a devastating and frustrating reality to deal with – and unfortunately, that’s the hand Royce and Keri Young were dealt.
The gorgeous couple from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma found out last year that they were expecting a little girl to add to their family. But then doctors told them the heartbreaking news….
Facebook/Keri Young
Their unborn baby girl Eva was growing inside the womb without a brain. The doctors informed Royce and Keri that it wouldn’t be long after her birth before God would call her up to Heaven. There was nothing else they could do to help her.
But without skipping a beat, Keri asked an important question in regards to carrying through with the pregnancy, despite the grim outlook.
Taking to Facebook, Royce shared why the last few months have been particularly rough for them and why he looks up to his wife now more than ever. His post is lengthy, but it’s absolutely worth the read:
“The other night, before I left for New Orleans, I was watching my beautiful wife sleep peacefully on the couch. I looked at her laying there, her belly big with our daughter kicking away, a daughter that won’t live more than a few days, and it just overwhelmed me of how incredible this woman is. I’m a writer so when I’m feeling something, I tend to have to write it down. So I pulled out my phone and started writing what I was thinking. And I realized tonight, sitting a thousand miles away in a hotel room (especially after meeting this awesome kid named Jarrius, that’s been everywhere at All-Star Weekend who needs a liver transplant) that instead of just keeping this one for me like I normally do, I should tell everyone else just how incredible Keri Young is. (I also miss her five seconds after I leave the house for a trip so I’m thinking about her all the time anyway.) I thought back to the moment where we found out Eva wasn’t perfect, and how literally 30 seconds after our doctor told us our baby doesn’t have a brain, somehow through full-body ugly crying, Keri looked up and asked, ‘If I carry her full term, can we donate her organs?’ I remember our doctor putting her hand on Keri’s shoulder and saying, ‘Oh honey, that’s so brave of you to say.’ Like, how nice of you, but come on. Keri meant it. There I was, crestfallen and heartbroken, but I momentarily got lifted out of the moment and just stood in awe of her. I was a spectator to my own life, watching a superhero find her superpowers. In literally the worst moment of her life, finding out her baby was going to die, it took her less than a minute to think of someone else and how her selflessness could help. It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced. In the eight years we’ve been married (and 15 years together) I’ve had a lot of moments stop me in my tracks where I thought, ‘holy crap, this woman I’m married to, lucky me.’ But this one was different. It hit me that not only am I married to my very best friend, but to a truly remarkable, special human being.”Facebook/Royce Young“This whole process has been rough, but I say that as someone watching from the bleachers like the rest of you. Keri has been in the trenches the entire time, feeling every little kick, every hiccup and every roll. She’s reminded every moment of every day that she’s carrying a baby that will die. Her back hurts. Her feet are sore. She’s got all the super fun pregnant stuff going on. But the light at the end of her nine-month tunnel will turn into a darkness she’s never felt before a couple hours or days after Eva is born. She’s the one that is going to deal with all that comes with having a baby — her milk coming in, the recovery process, etc, but with no snuggly, soft, beautiful newborn to look at to remind you that it was all worth it. We made our choice to carry Eva to full term for a lot of reasons, but the first and foremost was to donate her organs. We don’t say that to try and sound like great people or anything. It was just a practical endgame that, in our minds, before we came to the realization Eva is alive and our daughter deserves to meet her mama and daddy, gave us a purpose to continue on. Donating was on Keri’s mind from darn near the second we found out and while the experience of holding and kissing our daughter will be something we cherish forever, the gift(s) she’s got inside that little body of hers is what really matters. Keri saw that almost instantly. That kid Jarrius wears a shirt that says ‘It Takes Lives To Save Lives.’ I couldn’t stop thinking about that all day. There’s another family out there hurting and hoping for a miracle for their baby, knowing full well someone else’s baby will need to die first. Eva can be that miracle.
We’re getting closer to the finish line, and while it’s going to be amazing to run through that tape and meet Eva, it comes at a cost. We’ll go to the hospital for a birth, and go home without a baby. A lot of people say things like, ‘I wouldn’t change anything’ after a trying circumstance, but I’m not about to say that. I would definitely change this if I could. I want my daughter to be perfect. I want her to blow out her candles on her first birthday. I want to watch her bang her head on our coffee table trying to learn to walk. I want her to run up a cell phone bill texting boys. I want to walk her down an aisle. I want to change it all so, so badly. But I can’t. This is our reality. And there’s no stopping it. Whenever Harrison gets hurt, or has to pull a band aid off or something, Keri will ask him, ‘Are you tough? Are you BRAVE?’ And that little boy will nod his head and say, ‘I tough! I brave!’ I’m looking at Keri right now and I don’t even have to ask. She’s TOUGH. She’s BRAVE. She’s incredible. She’s remarkable. She’s cut from a different cloth, combining wit, beauty, courage, silliness, character and integrity into one spectacular woman. And somehow, she’s my wife. Not that I needed some awful situation like this to actually see all of that, but what it did was make me want to tell everyone else about it.”
Although Eva won’t get to spend much time on this Earth with her mother and father, she will save lives after her passing! Keri’s strength during her pregnancy is something many of us couldn’t even imagine.
Facebook/Keri Young
It takes a special person to deal with carrying a child that will inevitably pass with as much grace and determination to help others as Keri has done!
In life, we may come across someone who’ll make a deep impact on the way we perceive things in life. This was such an encounter.
For some time I have had a person provide me with a rose boutonniere to pin on the lapel of my suit every Sunday. Because I always got a flower on Sunday morning, I really did not think much of it. It was a nice gesture that I appreciated, but it became routine. One Sunday, however, what I considered ordinary became very special. As I was leaving the Sunday service a young man approached me. He walked right up to me and said, “Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?” At first I did not know what he was talking about, but then I understood. The boy said, “I would like it if you are just going to throw it away.” At this point I smiled and gladly told him that he could have my flower, casually asking him what he was going to do with it.
The little boy, who was probably less than 10 years old, looked up at me and said, “Sir, I’m going to give it to my granny. My mother and father got divorced last year. I was living with my mother, but when she married again, she wanted me to live with my father. I lived with him for a while, but he said I could not stay, so he sent me to live with my grandmother. She is so good to me. She cooks for me and takes care of me. She has been so good to me that I want to give that pretty flower to her for loving me.”
When the little boy finished, I could hardly speak. My eyes filled with tears and I knew I had been touched in the depths of my soul. I reached up and unpinned my flower. With the flower in my hand, I looked at the boy and said, “Son, that is the nicest thing I have ever heard, but you can’t have this flower because it’s not enough. If you’ll look in front of the pulpit, you’ll see a big bouquet of flowers. Different families buy them for the church each week. Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best.”
If I hadn’t been touched enough already, he made one last statement and I will always cherish it. He said, “What a wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet.”
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Despite the constant bad news in the media, there are still many kindhearted citizens ready to lend a helping hand to those in need.
Tired of bad news? Share this and subscribe for more heartwarming stories using the buttons below.
