A young mom with four small kids begged everyone walking by to help her when her truck wouldn’t start, but her pleas were ignored. It was raining, and her kids were tired and hungry. She sat in the vehicle, feeling hopeless, and started to cry. Then, she heard a tap on the window.
Tawny Nelson, a single Florida mom, found herself stranded at night in the pouring rain with her four young daughters after her truck broke down. Countless people passed by as the desperate young mother begged for help, but no one stopped. Feeling defeated, Tawny had a break down herself. What happened next, though, had her writing to her local news station.
Explaining that she has four absolutely beautiful little girls, ages 9, 5, 2, and 6 weeks, Tawny said things had been particularly rough for her since her ex left, Sunny Skyz reported. Her only means of transportation had a laundry list of problems, including a flat she constantly had to air up and a dead motor for the driver’s side window. It also needed a new alternator belt.
“The truck was a mess,” Tawny admitted. She didn’t drive anywhere unless she had to, but on occasion, she was left with no other choice. Such was the case the night she ended up broke down. In desperate need of a trip to the store, Tawny loaded up her kids and drove to the local Winn Dixie, a nine-block drive away. After grabbing the necessities, she put her kids back in the truck and loaded the groceries.
It was dark and raining as the mother climbed into the driver seat. She “tried to crank it” but got “nothing.” She quickly realized one of her girls had accidentally left a light on and her battery was dead. The young mother’s phone had also been disconnected, so there she sat with a truck that wouldn’t start and no way to call for help. It’s not like she had any family to speak of anyway, though.
Tawny Nelson was on her own. “I got out and opened my hood to be sure my battery hadn’t come loose,” she said, but it was simply dead. Without any other options, she turned to strangers passing by. “I must have asked more than twenty people in the course of two hours for a jump. They all ignored me,” she said. They didn’t even give her so much as a “no,” but rather acted like she didn’t exist.
Then, things went from bad to worse. Her 5-year-old began to have a meltdown, her newborn started screaming, and her two-year-old cried that she was hungry. As her oldest tried to help with her siblings, the mother reached the end of her rope. “I was bawling and felt like the worst Mom ever,” Tawny admitted, according to Yahoo News. Then, she heard a tap on the passenger window.
Tawny looked up to see a 74-year-old man, who walked with a cane and a bad limp, standing outside. When she opened the door, the elderly man handed her a plate of chicken strips and biscuits from the deli, along with some bottles of water. “Feed those babies and yourself young lady,” he told her. “I have a tow truck on the way and my wife will be here shortly to take y’all home.”
Sure enough, the mom and her kids, along with her vehicle, were soon taken home. But, that wasn’t the last Tawny would see of the old man who came to her rescue when everyone else looked the other way. “The next morning, the gentleman returned to my house with a mechanic who replaced my battery and alternator and fixed my window,” Tawny wrote. When she asked what she owed and whether she could make payments, the mechanic smiled and told her the older man had already paid.
Tawny Nelson wanted to thank him, but the elderly gentleman had already left, and he did not return. But, he had given the mechanic a message for her. The only payment the older man wanted was for Tawny to never give up and keep being an amazing mom. “I’ve never cried so hard in my life,” she said, recalling that emotional moment. “Things had been absolutely awful. More so than I care to explain,” she added.
“Without knowing us or our situation, this kind man helped us in ways he will never know,” Tawny explained. “I certainly hope one day I can do what he did for me for someone else,” she added, saying he revived her faith when she was falling apart. Tawney Nelson shared her story in hopes it will help someone else who’s struggling see that “angels will come when we least expect them,” as well as inspire others to be the angel someone else is praying for.
