Most of us wouldn’t think twice about making a quick trip to the grocery store, but for Jill Zimmerman, there’s nothing quick about it.
Jill has been disabled since 2011 and relies on public transportation to get around. A trip to the grocery store means planning her day around the bus schedule and then carting all of the bags home, and that one errand can take a lot out of her.
Last month Jill moved to Bettendorf, Iowa, and decided to make a trip to the store to pick up some odds and ends that she needed. As she was checking out, though, she realized something that left her sick – she had forgotten her electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card at home.
Already tired and spent, Jill didn’t know what she was going to do. A manager kindly told her he could suspend the transaction and put her groceries aside while she ran home for her card, but the trip had already taken so much out of her and she knew she wouldn’t be able to make it home and back that day.
Feeling defeated, Jill told the cashier to void the whole transaction, but that was when she heard a stranger in line behind her say something that left her stunned.
Seeing that there was an issue, the woman behind Jill had asked the cashier what was wrong. When he told her she turned to Jill and asked, “Can I pay for your groceries? I’d really like to!”
Jill thought the woman must be joking, especially since she had quite a few items in her cart, but the woman insisted – on one condition: that Jill let her give her a hug.
“She gave me a warm hug and I thanked her very much over and over again, tears welling in my eyes,” Jill recalled.
As she took her groceries and started to leave the store, Jill quickly snapped a picture of her “angel.”
“I quickly took a picture of her for two reasons,” she said, “one to remind me of her generosity and two to share it with anyone, hoping one day it gets back to her that her gift was a true blessing I’m forever grateful for.
“Blessed be to this woman, an angel sent when I really needed it! I didn’t get her name but, she sure touched my heart and made my faith in humanity a whole lot better! Thank you…Whoever she is, Thank You!”
Were you touched by what this “angel in disguise” did for Jill? So share this!