Mom Never Forgot A Stranger's Act Of Kindness, Now She's Paying It Forward

November 7, 2020

A mother in WAco, TX, is paying it forward years after a stranger's act of kindness in grocery store.

Credit: KWTX.com

Seven years ago Luz Rueda, then a 21-year-old single mother, was holding her screaming infant son as she wrestled over whether to use almost all of the money she had left before payday to buy diapers for her baby.

"I stood there so long until I finally decided on the box that my son had lost his patience and was screaming and crying for us to leave," Rueda said. "I was so preoccupied with my son's tears, I didn't even notice the woman in front of me had paid for my box of diapers."

Rueda never got a chance to say 'thank you' to the woman so she's now paying it forward, seven years and two more children after that encounter.

"Even though this was many years ago, I still think about her all the time," she said.

She had a box and three bags of diapers at her home, so she posted an emotional message on the Waco Moms in the Know Facebook Page, sharing the story of the stranger who helped her and offering to do the same for other moms in similar situations.

"I would like to give to four young single mothers, but please feel free to message me even if you don't meet these qualifications," she wrote at the end of the post.

Struggling moms quickly began to message Rueda and one by one came to pick up the diapers.

Rueda hopes the mothers she helped will return the kindness someday to someone else in need.

"I had four people that I gave diapers to and I hope that they pay it forward like I did and I hope it brought as much joy to them as the woman brought me and I really hope she sees this and sees how she rippled into other people's lives as well.