When a loved one passes away, we want nothing more than to have them back in our lives. And sometimes, you find support from the strangest of places.

When Chastity Patterson was just 23-years-old, her father passed away. Most people will experience the tragedy of losing a parent, but Patterson’s experience at such a young age was especially heartbreaking.

She struggled to come to terms with her loss. But one thing allowed her to get through the struggle. She would text her father’s phone number every single day. She knew that he wouldn’t reply, but talking to him in this way let her feel like a part of him was still around.

Patterson’s father, Jason Ligons, had always been there for his daughter.

Patterson’s own words describe the connection that they had best:

“He never missed a school dance, prom, my games, and YES he would give me long talks about my mouth and attitude. I had to introduce my boyfriends to him (If I was allowed to date), and he would act like a normal dad and give us the long talk. I’ve cried with him, told him everything, and even became very independent because he took the time to love me and show me what happiness looks like.”

As the years passed, Patterson was able to come to terms with her loss.

She would always miss her father, but eventually, something like normalcy came into her life. But even four years after Ligons had died, Patterson would text his number to honor his memory.

On the fourth anniversary of her father’s death, Patterson wrote the following message:

“It’s been four years since I lost you, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss you. I just wanted to say I love you, and I really do miss you.”

But what she wasn’t expecting was that shortly after sending this message, she would receive a reply.

At first, Patterson thought that she was dreaming or that someone was playing a cruel prank on her. But then she read the message and learned the truth.

The person replying to Patterson was, obviously, not her dad. His name was Brad. Shortly after Patterson’s father passed away, he was given the number.

His reply to Patterson started with the following words:

At first, this sounded creepy, but then Brad explained his own personal tragedy. Shortly before Patterson’s father passed away, Brad had lost his own daughter in a car crash.

When he got given the number and started receiving Patterson’s texts, they helped him get through his own devastating personal tragedy.

In fact, Patterson’s messages had helped him overcome the pain of not having his daughter in the world.

Then Brad explained that he had never responded to Patterson because he didn’t want to break her heart. Brad looking at Patterson’s personal messages may sound odd, but what would you do in this situation?

Then Brad said that he was proud of Patterson and that her father would have been too.

This response had a profound effect on Patterson.

She couldn’t believe that her messages had helped someone else through a similar tragedy to hers. She posted the messages on her Facebok page, and millions of people have similarly been moved.

Hopefully, Patterson and Brad can one day meet and thank each other in person for the way that they’ve helped each other through these difficult periods of their lives.

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Source: Inspiremore