In a heartwarming story reminding us there is still plenty of good in the world, a local military wife experienced an incredible act of generosity from a stranger at the Oakwood Kroger.

Emily Smith, whose husband Austin is currently deployed overseas with the U.S. Army, went grocery shopping tonight wearing one of Austin’s sweatshirts. While waiting in the checkout line, the man in front of her noticed the sweatshirt and asked if it belonged to her husband.

When Emily explained that yes, it was her husband’s sweatshirt and that he is deployed right now, the man took action in an amazing way. Without hesitation, he began transferring Emily’s groceries onto the conveyor belt with his own items.

“He told me he was paying for my groceries tonight,” recounted Emily. “I was speechless. The only thing I could get out was ‘oh my gosh, are you sure, thank you so much’ almost a dozen times.”

But the kind stranger wasn’t done there. He told Emily, “That place over there almost took me away from my wife and my four kids. Promise you’ll stay true and honest to him while he’s gone and love him like you’ve never loved him before when he gets home.”

The emotional Emily said she is “still in shock over an hour later” from the gesture. She emphasized how the experience renewed her appreciation for the good in our community and world.

“There’s still so much good in the world and we need to start focusing on that rather than focusing on all the bad,” Emily stated.

In a time of mounting negativity, this beautiful act of compassion from one military family to another is a powerful reminder of the warmth and generosity found in the human spirit. We salute the unnamed stranger for his kindness, and thank service members like Austin for their sacrifices to keep us safe.

I went to Kroger tonight wearing one of my husband’s sweatshirts. I got in line to check out and the man in front of me asked if the sweatshirt was mine. I said ‘oh no, it’s my husband’s.’ It caught me pretty off guard, to say the least. He then asked if Austin was with me so he could say thank you and I just said ‘thank you, but unfortunately, he’s deployed right now.’ The man then, without hesitation started putting my groceries up on the belt with his and told me he was paying for my groceries tonight. I was speechless. The only thing I could get out was, ‘oh my gosh, are you sure, thank you so much’ almost a dozen times. He said, ‘that place over there almost took me away from my wife and my four kids. Promise you’ll stay true and honest to him while he’s gone and love him like you’ve never loved him before when he gets home.’ I’m still in shock over an hour later. There’s still so much good in the world and we need to start focusing on that rather than focusing on all the bad.