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VERNAL — Janice shared a story with anonymousthankyous.com that turned one of her hardest days around because of the generosity of a stranger.
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This is what Janice wrote:
“Christmas Eve 2014 proved to be one of the hardest, yet most special days of my life. I live alone, so the holidays are always a little hard. Sure, I have neighbors and a few friends I could celebrate with, but I always feel out of place. I found staying home with my cats and my beloved dog to be good enough year after year.
“My world crumbled the morning of Christmas Eve. My dog was hit by a truck and killed instantly. I ran into the street and struggled to pull him out of the road. My kind neighbor was kind enough to help me dig through the frozen ground to give him a proper burial.
“The hours following my sweet dog’s death were some of the loneliest and empty hours of my life. I truly felt alone and more despair than I knew was possible. That afternoon, a knock came to my door. It was a young woman I had never met before. We live in the small town of Vernal, Utah, so I think I had noticed her around before, but I didn't even know her name. In her hands was a darling tiny potted Christmas tree plant. She handed it to me along with a card. She said, 'I know you don't know me, but earlier this morning I was down your street quite a ways and saw what happened to your dog. My heart broke for you. I drove by, not wanting to bother you at such a sad time. When I got home, I could not get you out of my mind. So I wanted you to have this to know that I am sorry for your loss, and that you aren't alone.'
“I could not even speak as my emotions got the best of me. The tears came, and I was able to mutter a small 'thank you' as she hugged me. She walked off, and joined what I am assuming was her family in her car and drove off. I went inside and opened the card. It was a beautiful handmade Christmas card as well as a beautiful picture of Jesus and a Wal-Mart gift card.
“By this time I was crying tears of joy. I was not alone after all! There are still kind, good, charitable and Christlike people in this world! Because of my limited income, I didn't even have a Christmas tree, and now I did. I also didn't have money for a Christmas meal, but now I did. My day of sorrow turned out to be one of gratitude.
“I relayed the events of my day to a friend a few days ago. To my surprise she told me that she had heard of a similar woman and her family going around town doing good deeds on Christmas Eve. Her friend, a cashier at our local Smith's grocery store had witnessed a young boy handing a card to a highway patrolman. She asked to see my card, and it was identical to the ones she had seen that were given to others. Some of their cards contained money; others had gift cards to restaurants, gas stations and more. They all contained the same picture of Jesus and an anonymous note reading, 'Please accept this gift from our family to yours.'
“I wish I knew who they were so I could thank them in person, but sometimes not knowing makes it even more special. All my friend and I could piece together was that it was a mom and dad and three children — a girl and two boys. The children and adults were handing out the cards randomly, saying Merry Christmas, and then walking away. I hope that whoever they were and wherever they are, they are reading this. I want them to know how touched I was by their kindness to me and others in this little town. I applaud them on their parenting — to teach their young children to give. May God bless their family. Let the city of Vernal (and anyone reading this) take note and pay it forward."
*Anonymous Thank Yous:*Have you ever wanted to say thank you for something a stranger did? Tell us your story at anonymousthankyous.com or follow along at Facebook and Twitter.
