Rob Edwards, a family man from Florida, was having a great week with his wife and children. This week was a special one for him, as he had recently celebrated 21 years of being happily married to his wife.
But there was also another thing that was making him really happy.
Rob loved his children very much, they were his life, and his eldest son, Cole had just finished high school. So everyone was preparing enthusiastically for his graduation ceremony.
However, Rob could have never imagined what fate had stored for him.
On the graduation day, Rob started his day early in order to finish everything that he had to do just on time for the ceremony. His first stop would be the bank.
When he arrived at the bank noticed that there weren't many people there, but even if there were he wouldn't care because he was so happy that day that he wouldn't mind.
Rob was in a such good mood that when he saw a lady rushing to go inside the bank he opened her the door and told her that she could take his place in the queue.
The woman at first was a bit reluctant.
Rob didn't mind to wait a bit longer as he had plenty of time to do everything before the ceremony.
So when he realized that the woman was hesitant he smiled at her and reassured her that there was no problem.
After that, even though the woman was still a bit hesitant, she smiled back at Rob and thanked him for his kindness.
After that, they started talking a bit about each other's lives, to pass the time.
“By all means go in front of me. Today my son graduates.
I’m slowing down and want to savor every minute,” Rob informed the woman and explained his behavior. Rob told her some more about his family and the graduation and the woman told him about her family, too.
As they were chit-chatting, the time passed and the woman's turn had finally come. So she thanked Rob once again and waved at him goodbye as she was heading to the employee's desk.
Rob waved back and smiled. However, he would never be prepared for what this woman would do next.
When it was Rob's turn, he approached the employee's desk and completed his transaction with a big smile on his face.
However, that smile wouldn't last for long, as what was about to happen next would shock him to the core.
While he was still at the employee's desk, Rob felt someone slipping something under his arm. At first, he froze, but when he turned around he saw the woman he was talking to before walking in a hurry outside the bank.
Moreover, when she approached him from behind she whispered something but he didn't manage to understand it. Rob didn't know what to do.
After the first shock, Rob gathered all of his courage to see what the strange woman had slipped under his arm. There was an envelope without anything written on it.
Just a plain envelope, from a totally strange woman. He had no idea what was inside and he was really hesitant to open it, and for a good reason...
He stood there for a few minutes while trying to find comfort to the others that waited in the line and had seen the incident, but they were equally confused.
He knew that sooner or later he would have to open it, so he took a deep breath to calm down and started ripping the envelope.
As he was tearing the envelope, his anxiety was getting bigger and bigger. At first, he thought that the envelope was empty, but then he looked a bit closer and what he saw took his breath away for good.
This was the most unexpected thing ever!
He stood there staring at the of the content of the envelope for a good minute before he could finally speak.
He couldn't believe his eyes so he needed to have a second look at the envelope and when he did and confirmed what was inside, he freaked out even more.
Well, what he saw when he opened the envelope was money. Yeah, money! He couldn't understand why though.
Rob needed answers so he ran to the door in order to find the woman the had slipped the envelope. At first, he thought he wouldn't find her, but something great happened.
Rob ran outside the bank in hopes of finding her, but she was nowhere. Luckily, he noticed a woman that looked like her getting into a car.
Rob started running towards her, but she was already pulling away. Thankfully, at the last minute before she headed off, she saw him and stopped the car.
When Rob approached the woman and after catching his breath from running he said, “I can’t take this!”. So, he handed the envelope back to the woman through her window without much success though.
The woman had no intention of taking back the envelope with the $50 inside and the reason will make your eyes water.
“When you talk about your boy, you glow. You’re a blessing to him, I want to bless him too!”, the woman calmly explained to the confused man.
Once Rob heard that his eyes started watering and couldn't say a word. After thanking the woman for her kind act, they took a picture together and each one followed his way.
So, when the time for the graduation ceremony came, Rob was overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling. He was so proud of his son, but what had added to his happiness was the incident with the woman.
He couldn't get it out of his head so he made a post on Facebook about it. The response was CRAZY!
Everyone loved that story and there were many comments. “First of all kid, I can’t believe your boy is 18! Second, I’ve been thinking a lot about the transformational power of love and kindness.
Our life is as a vapor…it is here and then it’s gone. Thanks for sharing your blessings…”, somebody commented on Rob's post.
A Facebook friend of Rob's also wrote, “The whole point of life right here! And it could not have happened to a more deserving person. Great story Rob Edwards!
And so well told, as per usual. When you write a book look me up. I reckon I got a few titles for you already!”.
Rob couldn't hide how much the woman's action had touched him and how grateful he was. “I was so touched. I don’t know her name, I’ve never ever seen her before. But I will never forget her love. I asked to take a picture with her.
And hugged her neck. We need more of this in the world today,” Rob wrote, “…not the money. But kindness. I hugged a complete stranger today. My son who I love with all my heart was shown love,” he said.
“Many of you who know me know what I believe in. Sounds kinda familiar don’t it. It warms the father’s heart to love the son. I am blessed.
Cole Edwards I’m so proud of you! To my bank customer friend. THANK YOU!” Rob added.
A heartwarming fact is that in the US there is an entire day dedicated to doing random acts of kindness in February.
That day you just choose a random act of kindness and you perform it for a stranger just to help them and brighten up their day.
“What a precious story! Thank you for sharing! God bless her for sharing love and being an example of what love looks like.
We need more love in the world!!!” wrote another user on Rob's post. The funny thing was that through the comments we found a similar story to Rob's.
Another strange and heartwarming story was told by an Imgur user named "gingersnap1316". The user claimed that while she was at home alone someone rang her doorbell.
When she opened the door she didn't recognize the man standing in front of her. Then the stranger asked her something really weird.
“Are you Karen?” the stranger asked her. “I told him no, that Karen was my mom and he gave a quick smile and handed me an unmarked envelope and walked away.
I get inside and open it up.” What was inside the envelope shocked her! It was $1,000 in cash along with a letter!
“Please accept this gift as an act of random kindness. A cherished member of our family devoted much of her time and resources to helping people through ‘Random Acts Of Kindness’.
She gave to others in many ways, and always did so anonymously. One way our family has chosen to honor her memory is to continue in the tradition of helping others in the community with acts of random kindness,” the letter wrote.
“A ‘Random Act Of Kindness’ does not have to involve the giving of money. It can be as simple as sharing your time with someone, lending an ear, or offering a compliment.
The most important part is that the act is unsolicited and done so with no expectation of anything in return.”
Every kind act has a huge impact on someone and it's really nice whenever we can to help someone in need.
So be kind and the faith in humanity will be restored!