People share 10 instances of kindness from strangers that gave them hope in trying times

The kindness of strangers

In today's world, kindness is not something we experience often. While that may be due to various reasons, one cannot invalidate the times they have experienced kindness. It is why when u/petal44 posted a question on Reddit that asked, "Who is a stranger you still remember and why?" people responded with numerous stories of kindness. They spoke about the random instances when they welcomed kindness from strangers and all of these stories were incredibly heartwarming. That is why we have curated a list of the best 10 stories of kindness by strangers in their time of need.

1. Help during medical emergencies 

When I was probably 3 or 4, I went to the bank with my mom and she passed out flat on the floor while talking to the teller. An ambulance came to take her away and I remember well a woman who held me and comforted me as I watched firemen put my mom on a stretcher and in the ambulance. My mom was ok, just had low blood sugar. I still remember her voice and her face. u/KingKarlTheSecond. Similar story here - a different reason for passing out though. My mom OD'd in a grocery store after she picked me up from school--I think I was 7 years old. She passed out, they called the ambulance, etc. and an older lady who worked at the store in the bakery came and grabbed my hand. She took me to the book section of the store and sat with me while we read a story. I don't remember a lot, like the name of the book or how long we were there, but her name was Joy and I think about that a lot in life. u/Illusiveyou

2. Mothers are the best

When I was about 13 or 14, my phone ran out when I was waiting for a bus, but I realized my bus wasn't arriving for two hours as it was a Sunday night and I don't live in a big city, so the bus times are varied. I knew I had to call my parents, but I was very shy and too nervous to ask anybody. But a really lovely mother noticed I was looking very anxious and came and asked if I was okay. She let me use her phone, but then she also stayed with me until my bus came because it was late at night and she didn’t want me there alone. I think about her a lot. She was so caring and loving. u/dunnowhatredditis

3. Helpful girl

I got stabbed during a mugging and legged it away from the scene. (Edit: To clarify, I was the one being mugged). I was full of adrenalin but then got to a bus stop and started to go into (mild) shock. A woman probably no older than 21, came and called an ambulance and sat with me, which was very reassuring. It turned out I wasn't too badly hurt, but to be honest, in the circumstance and confusion, you just tend to think, 'F***! I'm dying here!' Her sitting with me was so appreciated, she was so tender and supportive but also relatively calm and collected given the scenario (I didn't look too clever at the time and was covered in blood). That was 15 years ago and I still think of her. u/Onslow85

4. Stranger in the truck

10 months ago, I got into a horrific motorcycle accident and found myself lying on the street, dying. The ground was scorching as I live in Arizona, where we often have temperatures pushing 120° F. I was being cooked alive by the pavement until a passerby jumped out of his work truck, picked me up, and put me on a moving blanket. I don't remember his face, but I remember his actions. He called an ambulance and waited with me until they came. Whoever you are, thank you. You deserve more than a comment on Reddit. If for some reason, you are reading this, PM me, please. I still have your moving blanket. Edit: My wreck happened between Recker and McDowell on the 202 in the 90° curve. Not sure if that might help find this guy. u/freshfeeesh

5. God made her do it or so she says...

When I was a little kid, small enough to be in a shopping cart still, I remember being at Walmart with my mom and two sisters. This random black lady comes up to Mom and says, "God told me to give this to you." She smiled at her and clasped some money into my mother's hand. My mom was thanking her and me being a kid, I kinda realized what was going on but kinda didn't. At the time, my father had just left, and my mother was on her own raising three little kids. A few years later, my mom would bring up the lady a couple of times I remember she told my grandma about it, but after that, she hadn't said anything at all about her. That was probably like 15 years ago. I'm 21 now. Looking back, I wonder if that's one of my mom's reasons for helping me out with money at times... But I don't know. It does make me look back and think, wow, how kind people can be. And how weird that situation was too in a way. A woman saying she heard God talk to her and help another person in need. My mother is super successful now and she did most of it on her own, but she is super humble. I have many more weird and heartfelt stories about strangers, but this one came to my head first. Edit: Whoa, thanks for the award! And the comments too. Glad to hear similar stories. Kind people out there. u/Maryhadayam

6. Expectedly inspiring words 

I was 19 or 20, working at a car dealership going nowhere and in a shitty relationship. This lovely man with a full head of white hair looks at me and in the most non-passive, non-patronizing completely fatherly way says, "You are surrounded by this beautiful glowing light but have this cloud over you. I hope you are loved and treated well because you deserve nothing less." This guy had NO clue who I was and I never saw him again, but will never forget that. I had never felt more worthy of love. u/WeeshaBean

7. A book to remember her by

I studied abroad in Tokyo during my junior year of college when I was 20. I had never been out of the country before, was flying alone, and didn't speak the language, so I was pretty nervous. I was seated next to a woman named Ona, who must have seen I was anxious, so she talked to me over the course of the flight and gave me tips and pointers for my time in Japan. At the end of the flight, she had finished the book she was reading, and she wrote a kind note in it, signed it, and gave it to me. It's been 11 years and I still have that book. What must have seemed like such a small gesture to her meant the world to me. u/aiakia

8. The teacher who was kind

I was in college and 34 weeks pregnant. My baby hadn’t moved for about 6 hours. I was on my way to the emergency room after my class had ended because I was terrified. A faculty member stopped me and asked if I was okay. I responded honestly and said, “No, my baby isn’t moving”. He held my hand and said what I assumed was a prayer in another language. He squeezed my hand when he was done and made some pretty powerful eye contact with me. I thanked him and hurried off. I think about him now and then. Not many people care enough to stop upset strangers, but he did. u/itsrraining

9. Definitely the coolest

I was once on a seven-hour nighttime train trip, pretty much on the verge of fainting from sleeplessness. I attended a catholic school from age 5 to 12, and this might have played a role in what happened next. Sitting next to me was this 80-something-year-old nun, or sister, as we call them in Portugal, given that for some reason the word for a nun is almost insultingly formal, and I just straight up asked her if I could rest my head on her lap. She said, "Of course, my son," to my 17-year-old self and caressed my hair as I fell asleep. I drooled all over her habit and she found it hilarious and mocked me relentlessly as I woke up at about 5 am. “Let's stop this train and ask for water!" she laughed. Her eyes screamed peace and freedom. She was the coolest woman I've ever met. u/sevendie

10. Power of a hug

Years ago, I was a waiter at a restaurant and I had this one table it was about 6 or 7 women who were getting together for some kind of reunion. They were delightful people but such a pain as customers because it was impossible to get everyone to focus on order. They either couldn't agree on what they wanted to do or they were so focused on catching up with one another that it was like talking to a wall. This was in the middle of a lunch rush, so it amounted to a stressful situation. There was one woman who was a sort of "leader" of the group who helped rein the group in. After I finished serving them and dropped off their credit cards, I went to the break room to exhale from the stress. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by this emotion and a voice in my head said, "You need to go back and give that woman a hug before she leaves." I walk back to the dining room and the woman is standing there alone waiting for me she points to me and says, "You! Come over here, I need to give you a hug" and she gives me the biggest hug. It was so surreal. I'm not a religious person, but it was the closest thing I've ever experienced to believe that there is some kind of power out there that's bigger than all of us. u/coscojo