17 Moments That Prove Kindness and Compassion Are Always Worth It, Even When It’s Hard

I covered an older man’s groceries when his card declined. He looked embarrassed and left without saying a word. 2 days later, someone knocked on my door. It was the same man, standing there, red-faced and furious.
My blood ran cold when I saw him holding a folder. “Your job application landed on my desk this morning.” He recognized me. He was breathing hard. “Four flights of stairs! My knees are destroyed!”
He thrust the folder at me. “Anyway. You’re hired. Show up on Monday. And get a building with an elevator next time.” He turned and limped away.
I stood there, holding my own application, realizing he had climbed four flights just to tell me in person.

Grew up super poor. One day, I was at the beach with my mum, brother, and some family friends with kids our age. The other kids were all getting ice creams, and my mum decided to use the last of our change to get us ice creams too.
Everyone else got large fancy ones with flakes and multicoloured sauce. My brother and I got small ’plain’ ones. Both were super excited. We never just got an ice cream while out because you know. Money.
Walked away with our ice creams, and then one of the family friend’s kids tripped me over, and I dropped my ice cream in the sand. I was absolutely devastated. They said I could just get my mum to buy me another one. My mum overheard and apologized that she really couldn’t afford another one. Family friends’ mum refused to buy me a new one because “she dropped it, it’s on her.”
A random passerby heard it all. Pulled my mum aside and asked if she’d be okay with her buying me a new ice cream. She got me, my brother, and my mum a fancy ice cream each and then just walked off. It’s been literally 21 years, and I still think about this lady and her getting us ice cream.
Now, whenever I hear a kid ask for something cheap in a shop and their guardian says they can’t afford it, and I know I can, I’ll pull the parent aside and ask them if it’s okay if I buy it for the kid. I don’t think the lady will ever know how much that one ice cream meant to me.

While working abroad many years ago, I received the news that we had lost our baby at a very late stage of pregnancy. We’d basically been planning the delivery for when I got home from that work trip a few weeks later.
I flew straight home to be with my wife, and during one of the layovers, I was in the lounge and called my mum to break the news to her, barely able to keep myself together on the phone.
As soon as I put the phone down, a complete stranger walked over to me and, without saying a word, just put his arms around me and gave me a much-needed man-hug for a minute or so, then shook my hand and said, “Be strong, your wife needs you. Godspeed, brother,” and walked off.
I still think about that guy from time to time, and I wish we’d have had a chance to sit and talk, but I guess he had a flight to catch, and my head was a mess.

I was 12/13, and I went to the seaside with one of my best friends, his parents, and his younger brother. I never really got to go to the beach because we lived in the centre of the country and couldn’t really afford it, so this was a rare treat.
We ended up going to one of those 2p arcades, and I remember feeling all sad because we’d never been able to afford for me to have a go, and I didn’t have any change with me, so I thought it would just be me standing around watching.
My friend’s mum pulled a carrier bag from her backpack and from there produced three separate bags of change. She said she usually spends the year saving so her kids can have fun, and didn’t want me to feel left out, so she split it into three rather than two.
I grew up in a deprived area, so money was always tight, and they couldn’t have been any better off than we were, but she still thought to include me. I had so much fun that day, and even won a small toy that I gave to her to say thank you. Last I saw it was still in her car to this day.

I was pretty unwell in hospital one time, a bowel blockage with Crohn’s disease. As such, I didn’t have much of an appetite and was skipping meals (and dropping weight pretty quickly as a result).
One of the nurses on the ward offered to go to McDonald’s for me (which was all the way across town) and get me anything I wanted once she was off shift. I politely refused, and she was like, “Anything at all, it can even be a milkshake, anything.”
Again, I refused because I really wasn’t feeling well, but it completely made me cry because it was clear that this nurse cared about me so much that she was willing to go get me food outside of her shift, just so that I could eat something.

I’d just had a baby. I was 22. I was 1 week post birth and decided to get out and get some air, and decided to go to the local Tesco for some bits and have breakfast. I’d not eaten for days.
I got my breakfast, and my son started crying, so I pushed my food away and started to feed him. This absolute angel came and sat with me, took hold of my son and fed him whilst I ate my food. She sat right next to me, and I have never ever been more grateful for anyone since that day. She didn’t say a word to me apart from “let me help you”.
When I’d finished, she’d wound him and gave him straight back to me, hugged me and just walked away. I really needed that, right at that point.

When I was 15, I ended up getting pretty ill and was rushed to the hospital one night. After spending the night in A&E, being rushed for tests, and held in the triage area until they knew where to send me, I was finally placed in the children’s ward under observation.
At this point, it was about 8 am, and my parents needed to go home, so I was left alone. The nurse offered to bring me a DVD to watch on a tiny TV on wheels, and I picked Jurassic Park. She brought me the DVD case and left me to it. Me, being sleep deprived and so sick I could barely function, could not figure out how to work the DVD player.
There was a kid in the bed opposite me who’d just gone in for surgery for a broken arm, and his dad was sitting there looking stressed and anxious. He saw me struggling, came over to help. He managed to get it working, and I asked if he wanted to watch with me while he waited.
We spent the next few hours making our way through the first and second before his kid returned from surgery. It wasn’t anything special, but in a time when I was sick, scared, and alone, it really meant a lot to me to have someone there. I hope he’s doing well.

When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, friends and family were supportive, but they were dealing with their own sadness, too, so it was a bit difficult. The mothers at my daughter’s school were amazing.
They took her to play dates, dropped off food, did my grocery shopping, and were just quietly and unobtrusively holding my life together so that I could hold my husband and daughter together. I have lost touch with many of those women now, but will hold them in my heart forever.

A long time ago, I was really struggling with some essential training for my then-job. If I didn’t pass, I was going to be booted off the training pipeline. I was on the verge of leaving regardless, rather than deal with the stress and anxiety of potentially failing.
One of the managers/trainers knew I was struggling. He cleared his diary one morning, called me to his office, and sat with me for 2 hours explaining how much he had struggled when he went through the same training, what tools had helped him, and ended by giving me the pep talk to end all pep talks. He KNEW I could do it, I just needed someone to tell me they believed in me.
I came out feeling so much happier and lighter, knowing that someone I liked and respected had been exactly where I was 20 years prior. I passed everything—not necessarily with flying colours, but well enough. I still think about him and the positive impact that the 2-hour talk had on me to this day.

A few years ago, I went into Greggs on my way to work to grab a sandwich and a sausage roll. When I got there, the shop was empty, so I grabbed my sandwich from the fridge and headed to the counter to pay.
In the literal 30 seconds I’d taken to choose a sandwich, a woman had come in and was ordering bacon baps and coffees for about 20 people (must have been on the office breakfast run). I was mega pissed off. Tired, aching all over because I was heavily pregnant, and hungry while I waited for the lady serving to make 20 bacon baps and coffees.
The woman ordering apologised and asked the woman serving to put whatever I was having on her bill. I was so touched that I started crying (hormonal because pregnant!) and asked if she was sure. She was so nice and said absolutely, have whatever you want so I asked for my sausage roll and thanked her while trying to get the crying under control.
What had started off as a (let’s face it, minor) inconvenience turned into a kindness that I’ll never forget.

A guy I always chatted with at the gym suddenly disappeared, and I wondered where he had gone. He was really into the gym and keeping fit. I spoke to the staff and discovered he had cancelled his membership as he’d been made homeless. He was living out of his car. He wasn’t from England, so was struggling with the authorities/housing, etc.
I covered his gym membership for six months while he got a job and got back on his feet. I thought he could at least shower, go somewhere warm, and keep some sort of routine. I managed to find him a job locally, and he’s been doing really well.
He now brings me small gifts such as a cake and rum from time to time, which is nice. 🙂

Today, I made an unplanned breakfast stop at AJs diner in West Warwick when a random stranger paid for my meal and handed me this card.
Debra Jean Gorman, I will carry you with me today. I looked up her obituary, and she was loved and is missed by many. What a sweet way to honor your loved ones.
If this message reaches you, I appreciate your gesture, and so very sorry for your loss. Thank you. This act will stay with me.

I’m rushing across the street, one of those mornings where everything just feels off, you know? Like the day started without me. Halfway across, some guy yells, “Hey...wait.” I stop, totally confused.
Before I can even process what’s happening, this older man just crouches down right there in front of me and ties my shoe. Quick, neat, like he’s done it a million times. I’m just standing there like ....ookaaayyyyyyy. He didn’t ask or make some joke or hang around.
He just stands up, gives this little nod, and goes, “Wouldn’t want you tripping,” like it was the most normal thing ever... and then walks off. That was it. But I kept thinking about how weird it felt to have someone just take care of me like that.