A teen bagger picked up a bill from a struggling grandmother on her counter when she was short of cash to pay for her goods. Although she was also stretched out, she did not think much of it. Days later, her supervisor told her and handed her a thank you note.
Little did she know the impact of her gesture on the grandmother and her grandkids. She now shares her story to encourage others to be kind at all times, because you will never know what someone is going through, KZTV News said.
A bag of kindness
Maria Balboa, a 19-year-old Texas A&M University student, had been working at an H-E-B grocery store for more than a month when an older Hispanic woman and two grandchildren approached her checkout counter on March 28.
She recalled that the woman was using a SNAP [government assistance] card to pay for the groceries, and it stated it only had $19 left on it.
When she told her what was left of her card, the woman was completely aware and shocked to know that she had only a lot of money left on her card. Her groceries cost $137.
She said she would have to put all the groceries back beside a few items she would need for dinner.
Maria felt that something was telling her to pay, and it would not stop. Her heart sunk for the woman and she wanted her to have the groceries.
At first, the woman was embarrassed and was reluctant to accept help but Maria insisted on settling the bill and bagged the groceries which included bread, butter, fruit, a rotisserie chicken, and snacks for the kids.
After she settled the groceries, Maria went on with her day and did not expect to see her again. She did not tell anyone about the encounter and was happy to have helped someone, Epoch Times reports.
A call to the office
Days after, Maria was summoned to the office by her bosses. She thought she was in trouble but the bosses assured her that someone wrote a survey about her. At first, she thought it was a bad survey until her boss told her it was from the lady whose groceries she paid for.
In a note, the old lady explained that she took her grandkids when they were left by their mother. Hence, money had been tight for her and she had to take odd jobs so the kids could go into the foster care system. She thanked Maria for her kindness as it helped her out. The grateful lady wrote that "God put this young lady at [the] bagging area for us,"
Blessings in return
According to Original Newsbreak, Maria shared that her managers were teary-eyed and praised her for them for their kindness. They then told her they were reimbursing her the $137 and gave her a gift basket to show their appreciation for being supportive and compassionate.
The generous student admitted that when she headed home that day, she could not hold back her tears. She did not expect that her simple act of kindness could make a great impact on someone else. She told Epoch Times that she has done other things in the past, and even paid for their groceries. She did not have any idea what happened to these people after. This time, she said she had the privilege of knowing what happened to the woman and her grandkids.
Maria shared her story on Facebook, getting thousands of support from netizens. The kind teenager advises others to act with kindness when they feel it in their heart. It does not have to cost anything, she said.
