Just Another Appointment
We’ve all been there: you’re waiting to be called into your appointment. You flick through outdated magazines, waiting to leap out of your seat the moment you hear your name called so you can continue with the rest of your day. Usually, this is it. For one woman, a routine appointment turned into an unforgettable experience.
Just Another Appointment
Waiting Room
Natasha Crittenden Wilson, a Florence, Alabama native, was in the waiting room of her doctor’s office, patiently hanging on until it would be her turn to go into the appointment. She did not think anything out of the ordinary would happen on this day at the office, but she’d soon witness something wonderfully unexpected.
Waiting Room
Routine Paperwork
As everyone knows, going to a doctor’s appointment requires filling out routine paperwork and forms. Most people do not give this much thought, filling out the forms as quickly as possible in order to move on with the appointment. However, what many don’t consider is that to some, this is not as straightforward a task as it seems.
Routine Paperwork
A Young Mother
As Wilson waited, she noticed a young mother come into the office. The woman was clutching onto her child, who slept deeply while wrapped in his mother’s loving arms. The mother headed towards the front desk, baby still fast asleep, and was soon faced with the very same paperwork and forms that Wilson had filled out herself a few minutes before.
A Young Mother
A Growing Concern
At first, Wilson did not really pay attention to what was happening. After all, most people don’t think much about filling out these forms at all. However, it soon became clear that this was not the case this time. As the young mother was faced with the paperwork, Wilson realized that there was a problem.
A Growing Concern
In Her Own Words
In her now viral Facebook post, Wilson described the situation she witnessed that day: “I was in the waiting room at the doc office today and this lady walked in with her sleeping baby! They handed her paperwork to do & as she was sitting there trying to figure out how to hold her sleeping baby while filling out the paperwork…”
In Her Own Words
Not As Easy As It Seems
Even though to most people this part of the doctor’s appointment is unremarkable, it became very apparent to Wilson that the mother was faced with a small problem. The young mother seemed determined to let her baby keep sleeping but that did not change the fact that the paperwork needed to get done.
Not As Easy As It Seems
What Could She Do?
As the mother was clearly visibly concerned about not wanting to wake her baby, Wilson soon realized that someone else had noticed the young woman’s dilemma. However, what she saw next caused her to say: “my heart melted!!!” on her famed Facebook post that described the incident that took place that day.
What Could She Do?
The Offer
Wilson continued describing the amazing incident she witnessed at the doctor’s office: “As she was sitting there trying to figure out how to hold her sleeping baby while filling out the paperwork, this man, from across the room, asks her if she would like for him to hold her baby while she did her paperwork.”
The Offer
A Kindhearted Stranger
After the kind stranger offered the young mother his help, Wilson could not help but eagerly wait for the woman’s response. It did not disappoint. Wilson shared that the mother “smiled and said that would be wonderful!! This man went over there and rocked and loved on that baby like he was his!!”
A Kindhearted Stranger
She Was Moved
Wilson was taken aback by the man’s simple act of kindness. She continued her Facebook post by saying: “Racism is still VERY real in our society today BUT THIS MAN GAVE ME HOPE & a sweet memory I’ll never forget!! If you know this man tell him what an amazing person he is!!”
She Was Moved
The Sad Truth
The unfortunate reality of life is that many times we do not go out of the way to help one another out. It is much easier to do nothing when we see a stranger facing a problem rather than take time out of our day to lend a helping hand. However, on that day, Wilson witnessed a kind stranger reaching out to a mother who needed a simple favor.
The Sad Truth
Truly Commendable
Wilson’s touching post certainly did not go unnoticed. The photo and story went viral, and at a certain point had amassed over half a million shares and 78,000 comments to boot! People from all around the world were responding to the man’s kind act. A woman from Nigeria commented: “Oh! What a beautiful heart!”
Truly Commendable
Going Public
Wilson was invited to share her story on Good Morning America. While speaking on the show, she shared that the man “went over and picked up the sleeping baby and sat and hummed to him and rocked him until he was called back to his room. This was something I had never witnessed in my life. I have seven of my own children and people just don’t normally offer help anymore to someone they don’t know.”
Going Public
Another Realization
As Wilson said, even as a mother of seven children of her own, she did not expect this sort of act of kindness. Wilson is very aware of the reality that most people would just rather keep going with their own day than take a moment to think about how they can help out a stranger. But the man’s kind act led to another realization for Wilson.
Another Realization
Their Identities Revealed
Since Wilson decided to go onto Good Morning America and share the heartwarming story, the mother, child, and kind man were brought to the spotlight. Therefore, their identities were finally revealed to the public. The young mother was identified as Jade West. Her little baby boy is named Jayce Billings, and the man who kindly offered to hold him is Joe Hale.
Their Identities Revealed
So What Did She Realize?
As Wilson shared the heartwarming story on Good Morning America, she came to another realization. Joe Hale, the man who offered his help to Jade West with her son Jayden, is a white man, while Jade is African American. Wilson appreciated the fact that she witnessed a human moment, free of judgment and racism.
So What Did She Realize
Kindness Knows No Race
Wilson stated, “Racism is still VERY real in our society today BUT THIS MAN GAVE ME HOPE & a sweet memory I’ll never forget!!
If you know this man tell him what an amazing person he is!!” The act of kindness transcended the society-constructed race issue and showed that kindness is an inherently human quality.
Kindness Knows No Race
Jade Speaks Out
The mother in the story, Jade West, also spoke to Good Morning America. She shared: “I felt relieved and appreciated at the fact that he wanted to help, he seemed really genuine….” West was truly appreciative of the kind man who took the time to help her out and make the task of filling out the paperwork possible without having to worry about her baby.
Jade Speaks Out
Once A Parent, Always A Parent
West continued to gush about Hale’s kindness. She shared, “He talked about how he never stops being a ‘paw paw’ and how he loved kids and just about my baby in general!” It seems as though Hale was not acting just out of kindness, but also out of empathy. He too had once been the one caring for a baby, and even now as a grandparent, knows how difficult simple everyday tasks become when you need to worry about a baby as well.
Once A Parent Always A Parent
A Family Man
Jade continued to share her wonderfully positive experience with the kind man who offered her and her young son his help: “He was literally just loving on him and talking to him as if he was his own grandchild and had known him his whole life. He was just the sweetest.”
A Family Man
The Key Takeaway
What really stood out to Wilson was not just the kindness Hale exhibited, but how kind he was to a woman who was complete stranger. She said, “for a stranger, a white man at that, asking a young black mother if he could hold her baby to help her out, then the way he loved on that baby like it was his own, it almost puts me to tears every time I think about the love you could see radiate from him for that baby.”
The Key Takeaway
The Implications Of His Actions
Hale was quick to offer a kind gesture of help to Jade West. This simple act of kindness was innately human, and it is amazing to see people helping one another as people, without being divided by race or religion. Too often, we are pitted against one another, but it is wonderful to see a story in which people come together rather than stand divided.
The Implications Of His Actions
People’s Reactions
The post that Wilson shared became a viral sensation – reaching thousands of people online all over the world. So many people saw the post and reached out to Wilson that she decided to start keeping track of where the responses were pouring in from. She complied a list and shared it with her followers!
People’s Reactions
Divine Intervention
Wilson was truly amazed at how many people were exposed to the story. She said of the responses from different countries she heard from,”Some of them I’ve gotten from multiple states/district/providence/islands etc…I’m just in awe! You can’t tell me God isn’t real because this is nothing short of GOD!!”
Shia LaBeouf
Divine Intervention
So Where Were They From?
The simple act of kindness that took place in Alabama reached people from all around the world. But exactly where were they all from? Some of the places that people reached out to Wilson were from include South Africa, Germany, Peru, Spain, Congo, Ireland, and many more…the global reach is simply amazing!
So Where Were They From?
A Little Goes A Long Way
Since the post went viral, it’s very clear that the story touched many people. Perhaps it is due to the fact that a simple act of kindness will usually be met with positive reactions, as was the case in this story that Wilson shared. In her own words, she said: “I think it’s shown more people and given more people hope.”
A Little Goes A Long Way
Not For Fame
Even though the post that Wilson shared went completely viral, Joe Hale, the man in the famed photo, does not seem to be basking in the spotlight. It seems as though he is not participating in interviews about his act of kindness. In a way, it shows that his goodwill was truly genuine, as he was not helping just to get attention and praise.
Not For Fame
She Speaks Out
She Speaks Out
One Simple Kind Act
We can all learn from the story of Hale taking a few moments to help a young mother. Sometimes in life we are faced with these moments of opportunity, that will not take a lot out of our own time. Thanks to people like Hale, we can see that even a few minutes of your time can make a world of a difference to someone else.
One Simple Kind Act
