Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I was in church one Sunday when my husband’s ex-wife requested the pastor and the church to pray for her.  She said that she was a drug addict and she wanted to stop using drugs.  She was crying and said that she needed God’s help because she knew that she couldn't do it alone. She was a beautiful woman with four children and they were all crying with her.

After church I went to her and introduced myself. She said that she had heard about my marriage to her ex-husband. We talked for a little while and she told me that she did not have a car and that they were going to catch the bus home. I offered to give them a ride and we continued to talk in the car. She began to open up about how bad things really were in her life. I had heard rumours from the family that she married a football player and she said both of them were heavy drug users. He was shot and killed in a bad drug deal and she lost everything. Eventually she was on the street and had to sell her body for food and a place to stay with her four children.

I asked her where I was taking her and who she lived with. She didn’t have a place to stay so I told her that she could stay at my place. I had a queen size sofa bed and she and the children could sleep there. She was concerned about my husband. I told her not to worry about him, he would be fine.  I lived in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment and even though there would be 9 of us, I wasn’t worried. She and those children needed our help.

While she was getting settled with the children I explained to my husband what happened. I told him she didn’t have anywhere to go and she needed help. He was furious and refused to let her stay with us. He said she was a drug addict who was just ‘playing’ me.  I refused to believe that.  We had argued until I got a copy of my bible and showed him that it said we must help people in need. Eventually he saw that I was serious about helping this woman and her children and said they could stay.

She stayed with us for two weeks.  During that time I prayed that she would find a job and land on her feet and it worked because I was able to get her a job at the company I worked for. She told me that she was supposed to apply for her deceased husband's social security but she had lost the copy of her marriage licence after his death. We went to the county offices and received a copy of her marriage licence and then applied for social security. In less than a month she received retroactive back social security payments from the time of her husband's death to the current date. She received a check for several thousand dollars and immediately we found a nice place for her and the children to live. She paid the rent 1 year in advance, purchased some furniture for the house and she also purchased a nice mini-van.

She continued to work with me on the job for the next 7 years. She remarried and we stayed in touch until I was offered a better job opportunity and had to move away.

During that time she always thanked me repeatedly for believing in her and helping her get back on her feet.