A mother and daughter having a rough day were surprised by the kindness and sympathy shown to them by a homeless woman.
42-year-old, Joanne Anderson, is a resident of Wirral, Northwest England, and works as a hospice worker at St. John’s, and has a 6-year-old daughter, Emily, who has hypothyroidism.
The hyperthyroidism affects Emily’s moods and makes her upset easily, so while she and her daughter were on the way to a doctor’s appointment for it, they stopped at McDonald’s, Birkenhead, where the heartwarming incident happened.
Anderson made Emily sit at the table at the Mc Donald’s, while she went to place their order, and that’s where she saw a person in need that moved her to give them some change.
The story could have ended here showcasing the kind act that Anderson did for the needy person, but what happened after this is warming the hearts of thousands across the world.
Joanne Anderson saw a woman in her 20s who didn’t have enough money to pay for her meal and found out later that she was homeless.
“She didn’t have enough money at first for what she wanted to buy, so I gave her [50 pence, about 68 US cents],” Anderson said, “I had some change in my purse.
While Anderson was at the counter, Emily came over to her and was upset and crying because she was taking a long time ordering the food.
That’s when the homeless woman approached the mother and daughter and saw Emily having a meltdown and then did something that stunned them. She gave Emily the remaining change she had from her purchase and told her not to be upset.
“She gave it to Emily and she said to her, ‘Aw don’t be upset, here’s some pennies for you to go and spend in the shop,’ which was just — I don’t know how to put it,” Anderson said.
That made Anderson really emotional because the homeless woman needed the money more than them but yet she gave from the little change that she had leftover to cheer up Emily.
“And then for her to give her last four [pence] to my daughter because she was upset, it was lovely.” This story reminds us of the widow in the Bible who dropped her last mites in the collection box as Jesus was watching her.
Anderson didn’t expect the homeless woman to give her last 4p to her daughter and was moved by the woman’s kindness and reciprocated by buying a Coke for the woman and sat with her along with Emily and chatted for half an hour.
During that time they spent with her, they got to know her better and it was a great experience for Emily who learned a lesson about being kind to others.
Anderson told Emily that when she sees anybody upset at school or anywhere, she too should try and be nice to them and make them feel better.
The four pence that they have kept as a memento reminds them that even small acts of kindness like these go a long way to make the world a better place.
“That was probably one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for my child,” Anderson said.
“Because in that moment, she stopped crying and she was happy.”