Carlos Sepeda Jr. and his family lost everything when Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area, and after evacuating their home, they went to stay with Sepeda’s mother-in-law, who took the family out for dinner at Sam’s Restaurant in Fairfield, Texas.

What began as an ordinary meal soon became an act of compassion that the Sepeda family would never forget.




“This is how I know Texas is great! My mother in law took my wife and I to Sam’s restaurant in Fairfield, Tx after we evacuated. Our waitress who we had never met before waited on us and heard about our situation.

She handed my wife this paper, we did not look at it till we got to the parking lot. We opened the note to see a 100 dollar bill we walked back in to tell her we could not take her money. Her reply was she had gone to the back and prayed on it and she refused to take the money back.

She then offered us a table a chairs if we needed them. My friends and family if you are in Fairfield make sure to stop by Sam’s restaurant and see Mary, tip her well and show Texas gratitude! This is what Texas pride is made of!” Carlos wrote in a Facebook post to show what an amazing blessing they had received.




The note reads, “This isn’t much compared to your loss. Buy you something special. God bless – my prayers are w / u. Mary.”

Surely this amount of money is significant to any waitress. Mary’s act of kindness will not be forgotten by the Sepeda family and has ended up inspiring the nation as hundreds of thousands of people have shared this story.

Kindness is beautiful.

Photo courtesy of Carlos Sepeda.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh69bt7hEN5/

Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people, just like Cesar Larios of College Hunks Hauling Junk moving company.

While a few men and an older woman were in an elevator, the elevator unexpectedly stopped working, and they became trapped inside. They eventually made some phone calls for help, and while waiting for help to arrive, the older woman became tired and explained that she was unable to stand for long periods of time.




After hearing this, instead of spending his time in the elevator being stressed, Cesar Larios decided to get down on his hands and knees and become a human chair for the struggling older woman. His act of kindness was greatly appreciated, and eventually help was able to come free them from the elevator.




Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment, we rise above ourselves. If you were touched by this story of kindness, let it inspire you to share some love and kindness with a person you encounter this week. Love and Gratitude ❤️

If you can be one thing, be kind.

When Bryan Hodgson stepped into a Starbucks for a quick coffee before heading to the airport, a homeless man stood in line in front of him.

“Went to the airport barefoot this morning and it was the best feeling ever,” Bryan said. “Before the airport, I stopped at Starbucks to grab a coffee real quick in San Francisco before heading to the airport….I got in line behind a homeless man with no shoes on, he had collected enough change to grab a banana and a drink.”

After the shoeless homeless man used what little he had to purchase a drink and a banana, he spilled a little on the ground, then quickly cleaned it up so that no one else would step in it.

“After getting his drink he spilled a little on the ground and rushed over to grab some napkins to immediately clean up after himself saying ‘I would hate for someone to step in this.’ The man with no shoes on… was worried that someone else with shoes on might step in his mess…”

The thoughtfulness of this homeless man brought forth a deep feeling in Bryan’s heart.

“I followed him to the back of the store as he was grabbing more napkins and asked him if he owned any shoes.”

“He said, ‘Man, they stole them from me last night, but you know what. I’m not going to complain. That is the life of a homeless man.’ Told me to have a nice day and didn’t ask me for a thing. I asked what size he wore and he said 11… I told him I’m a 14 but would give him my shoes if he wanted. He didn’t even think about it.. didn’t matter what size. I took my shoes off and gave them to him, and it literally brought him to tears.”

As Bryan left, the humble homeless man was so grateful that he had given him his shoes, but he had trouble accepting such a generous gift for himself.

“He followed me out to my car asking several times ‘Are you sure you want to give me your shoes?’ Here I am with two more pairs in my luggage for a 4 day trip.”

Bryan hopes that people will recognize the good that exists inside of those who are struggling around us.

“I am not saying this for a pat on the back… but to bring awareness that there are good people out there who need help. Everyone has a story. At the end of the day I am blessed to have a job where I get free shoes regularly. The look on his face when I gave him my shoes was priceless. He wasn’t begging, he didn’t even ask me for a single thing. I hope he enjoys the heck out of those comfortable Nike Air Prestos, and somehow finds a way to pay it forward. I hope this also inspires someone reading this to do something nice for someone else today. With all the craziness going on in our country…find a way to make even the smallest difference.”

You are Loved.

See Also: Searching For Food, This Starving Man Finds Kindness: A Story That Everyone Should Read

 

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Recently, a woman walked into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and saw a stranger holding her baby.

The stranger was an older, kind looking man. He was sitting in a chair and gently rocking her infant son, Logan.




Logan had been in the NICU for six weeks after being born prematurely and needed around-the-clock care. His mom was there to hold him as often as she could be, but as she was making her way to the hospital that morning, the man, David Deutchman, was happy to step in.

They call him the “ICU Grandpa.” And he’s been offering snuggles as an official volunteer at the hospital for 12 years.




On Tuesdays, he visits the PICU to hold babies whose parents can’t be with them that day. On Thursdays, he makes rounds in the NICU. The photo was taken by baby’s, Logan’s, mom as she fought back happy tears.

Logan has been in our hospital for six weeks. Every night, his mom goes home to be with his big sister. Every morning, she drives back to Scottish Rite feeling ‘anxious that he’s been missing his mommy.’

On this particular morning, she walked into the PICU to find Logan—a preemie born at just 25 weeks—in the arms of David, who smiled and introduced himself as the ICU Grandpa. This photo captures just one precious moment with a legend of a hospital volunteer who’s been holding the hearts of babies and patients for over 12 years.

Credit: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Grandpas hold their children for just a little while, but their hearts forever.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhbPePXBDPL/

With so much damage caused by Hurricane Irma, first responders and military members were working day in and day out to help those affected in Florida. Most of the men and women went above and beyond their call of duty to help the tens of thousands who were affected, and one kind man wanted to make sure they were all well fed.

National Guard member Robert Vien was providing relief when he witnessed a man, who wished to remain anonymous, drive up with a grill and hundreds of pounds of chicken to cook for the hardworking Irma relief group in a heart warming act of kindness.

“I don’t know who this guy is, other than he is a prosecutor in Miami-Dade. He came down to the Florida Keys with his own grill and 300 lbs of chicken to cook for all military and first responders out here helping with Hurricane Irma relief,” Robert shared in a post online.

“Let’s make his guys famous instead of all the negative stuff happening. Thank you from all of us!!!! #RealNews #DoingTheRightThing,” Robert continued.

While we all too often focus on the problems happening in the world, we need to remember that there are countless amazing and compassionate people who are all around us, working hard to make the world a better place, and to help those in need.

You are Loved.

Photo courtesy of Robert Vien.

See Also: This Kind Restaurant Made 1,000 Free Meals For Hurricane Victims, Hasn’t Been Covered By Media. Let’s Thank Them