Single dad’s card is declined when buying food and stranger quickly blurts out “I’ve got it”
Call it divine inspiration, call it a desire to help, call it what you will, but what Sara Fleming did for one single dad had lasting ramifications for her as well as for the father in question.
At the end of the day, what mattered was that when Fleming saw someone in need she stepped up to the plate in a big way.
A chance encounter
It all happened during the holidays one year as Fleming was shopping at her local grocery store.
In a post on her Facebook, she recounted how it all started as she stood in line awaiting her turn to check out.
His card was continually declined
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In front of her were a single dad and his two children.
The cashier rang up his total, $94.10. Disheartened the dad realized he couldn’t afford it, as his card was declined.
“I watched as the man in front of me asked the cashier to put things to the side. Over and over again. He kept swiping his card. Declined,” Fleming said in her Facebook post.
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The father, stood there with his two children, embarrassment written on his face.
It was hard enough to provide for a family, but to have something like this happen during the holidays must have been unbearable.
A voice inside of her
As Fleming stood there, watching disheartened, she felt a tug in her heart. Something was telling her to help this father out in his time of need.
“Then suddenly, I felt it. It was like a gentle shove on the back and a mild electric shock to my heart. ‘Pay for these groceries,’ it said.”
A Christian, Fleming at first was hesitant. She didn’t want to embarrass the father any further, but the voice persisted.
“That small voice still called again. Another shove. Stronger this time. ‘I’ve got it,’ I blurted out loudly, as heat flooded my face.”
A single dad
Not believing his ears, the father turned to see who was offering help. Then as the realization hit him, tears welled up in his eyes.
“I don’t know how to thank you. I’m a single Dad. It’s so hard,” He said to Fleming, still in disbelief.
She reassured him that it was okay and that she wanted to help. Telling it was what God wanted her to do, she cried about it in the car, grateful that God had allowed her to help someone in need.
The importance of helping others
In a time of turmoil and division, it is always important to hold each other up. We can’t always be our best all of the time, but with the help of others, we can rise above our current problems.
An incredible coincidence
Months later, as Fleming sat in church, she saw something that shocked her. Sitting at the end of her pew was the father and his two children.
She had not told them where she went to church, or even that she was a Christian, yet somehow, here they were.
Sobbing to herself, Fleming thanked God once again for trusting her with the opportunity to help the father out. And she knew it wasn’t about her, but simply about doing the right thing.
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H/T: Love What Matters, Facebook – Pacis in The Gutter – Sara Fleming