Woman writes letter to stranger who left her 'wrecked' in traffic with unexpected act of kindness
Who is the man in the white car with a red hoodie that changed this woman's life in traffic? She has something heartfelt to say to him...
Photo: Unsplash/Mei-Ling Mirow
CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to CapeTalk listener, Leonie Theron, who shares an inspiring story about witnessing a random act of kindness.
Listen below:
Theron explains how she witnessed a random act of kindness while stopped at an intersection close to Durbanville Golf Club.
For Theron, seeing someone in a "small white car with a red hoodie" share half of his lunch with a homeless man at this interaction on a cold and stormy day changed her day and gave her some perspective.
Theron explains how this moment touched and challenged her...
"In my head I was complaining about food prices, but I was wearing my warm jacket... I'm in my car and things were just negative... and here I drove past a guy stopping with his not-so-fancy white car and he shared his lunch with a homeless person, and it humbled me so much that I couldn't stop crying... I was like: what do I have to give? I am complaining but I have a warm jacket, food to eat - poverty is so huge... and this really touched me because I was challenged, when last did I give something to a homeless person."
- Leonie Theron, CapeTalk listener
Theron explains that this moment touched her to the point of wanting to pen a letter expressing her gratitude for the unidentified person's kind gesture in the hope that maybe, they'll hear or read it...
"To the guy in the small white car wearing a red hoodie,
You made me bawl my eyes out in traffic today. On this cold, rainy day, you noticed a homeless man. Cold to the bone, wrapped in a thin blue blanket and you stopped, you didn't just drive by, you got out and gave him lunch. Maybe it was your only lunch, maybe it was extra - judging by your car, I guess you're not someone with endless means but still, you gave.
That moment made me pause and ask, what am I even complaining about? What do I have to give?
You stepped out, in the pouring rain, thinking of someone else, selflessly, quietly, and it wrecked me in the best way.
You reminded me that kindness still exists, that good humans walk among us.
If you somehow see this, I want to high-five you, hug you, thank you - you made me cry, you made me smile, and you reminded me of something so powerful: it is more blessed to give than to receive.
So, I pray blessings and blessings over your life and even in your selfless quiet season, I pray that you always have enough - not just for yourself, but to keep giving from your beautiful heart.
And for those listening to this, go be a good human."
- Leonie Theron
"This is a call to action and I want to use this hashtag, #shareyourlunch... we can share food, keep a bag of lemons in your car and share that. Let's start a movement. There's a lot of people going through hard times, it's not just people on the streets; it's our neighbours, it's colleagues, car guards... it is so necessary that we share what we have."
- Leonie Theron, CapeTalk listener
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.