In times of trauma and grief, an act of kindness goes a long, long way. It’s something that reminds you why life is worth living after a loved one has passed on. It can be a shining light in someone’s dark miserable day, and you just never know how big the impact is, regardless of how big or small the act may be.
It all started in an unlikely place, under tragic circumstances. But, then again, even something good can come out of grief and suffering.
Jake has lived a long life. He was married to his beloved wife for 65 years when she passed away. At 86-years-old, he’s still devastated that he lost the love of his life, but he lives out each of his broken-hearted days with as much peace and kindness as he can. He has a routine. He wakes up, goes to church each morning then meets one of his nine children for coffee. He returns home to tend to his garden and then heads off to the Garden Park Cemetery in Conroe, Texas, USA, to visit his wife, Liz. He always leaves flowers.
One day, he noticed the grass on her grave was starting to go brown and dry after his town went through drought season. To add to his routine, Jake simply started watering the gravesite to keep the grass green and healthy. It doesn’t inconvenience him, it’s an act of love and remembrance on his part.
It was on a summer day, when Jake was visiting his wife that he saw a woman crying and kneeling, only a few spots down from him. He learned that the woman was crying over the grave of her brother, a US soldier who was killed in a car accident after serving his country. His name is Joseph Anthony Villasenor and he served in the country for 16 years. Jake was moved.
From that day forward, he watered his wife’s grass and Joseph’s grass. He says it is the least he can do after all Joseph sacrificed for our country. Of course, the next time Joseph’s parents, Rachel and Raymond, visited their son’s grave, they were shocked to see just how green the grass was! They thought an angel was looking down on their son – and they’re almost right!
“It was just incredible to know that a stranger would take that much time and care for our son who he didn’t even know,” Rachel says.
Click below to learn more about the compassion behind this simple but deep act of kindness.
