"Of course it’s difficult," says a woman named Billie, speaking about being a single mother. "It is intended to be a two person job."
The Floridian has a seven-year-old son, works four jobs and studies full-time – so you can imagine that it might all get a bit much sometimes. But recently, Billie became the lucky recipient of a random act of kindness, and the story behind it all is truly amazing.
She told Bored Panda that she and her son "honestly wouldn’t make it without family, friends, and the kindness of strangers". But this time around, a kind stranger went well above the usual kind of favour and helped Billie out phenomenally after reaching out on Facebook.
Billie is a regular poster on a mothers' group on Facebook and was randomly contacted by another woman who noticed her activity on there from time to time. She messaged her on Facebook, making a generous offer and saying she wanted to help someone who looked like they could "catch a break". Billie uploaded the screenshots to Imgur, commenting that she "was a bit cautious of course. I stalked her online and made sure she wasn’t an axe murderer."
With that out of the way, Billie decided to accept the kind stranger's offer. She did say she was "conflicted" about accepting the offer, especially since she's "not good at accepting help". However, the kind stranger's suggestion was greatly appreciated by Billie.
“My son is 7 and headed into second grade," Billie said. "It’s always been just me and him, so I’ve been a single mom for 7 years. I have 4 jobs and I am also a full-time student so not much time for dating."
The woman suggested paying for school supplies – something that can accumulate quite a hefty sum – for two single mothers. Billie happened to be one of the women she chose, with the woman saying that "for some reason", her posts "popped out" to her. Of course, Billie could've rejected the offer and the woman would then have chosen another individual from the group instead.
The message exchange is quite extraordinary, with the woman telling her own story about a random act of kindness that had changed a lot for her in her past too. Now, she's all about "paying it forward", and was hoping to help someone out without any kind of reward or recognition. You can read the whole thing below.
Wow! How amazing is that?
"I owe this woman so much," Billie said of the whole experience. "I hope this story helps other people want to do more kind things, just to do them."
So do I!
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