She was a stranger to me. The first time I saw her, she was sprawled out like a rag doll on the pavement. She had just been hit by a car. I was horrified. I quickly parked my van on a side street and informed my children that they needed to stay put because I had to go help her. I locked the doors to my van and then went running to be by her side. I went to comfort her as we waited for the ambulance to arrive.

As they were loading her up in the ambulance she pleaded with me to accompany her to the hospital. I would have loved to do that but I couldn’t. I had my children that were obediently waiting for me to take them home.

I got her name and when my children were staying at their dad’s house, I went to visit her in the hospital. I took her some homemade cookies.

After the incident, I moved on and figured she did too.

Until I got a phone call several years later. It was this lady who had once been a stranger. She asked me if I was the one who had stopped to comfort her after she had gotten hit by a car? I said, “Yes, that was me.” She said that I had changed her life. She was tempted to become bitter about the accident. She said because I had chosen to comfort her she always tried to do something good for someone else instead of being bitter. She was full of gratitude for that little act of kindness I had shown her. The phone call warmed my heart.

We lost touch again until this last year and she contacted me on Facebook. She has married a wonderful man, gotten a degree, (working on her Master’s now!) became a teacher and has an ADORABLE little boy now. We are now Facebook friends. She is such a fantastic person, it is a delight to follow her on Facebook.

She just recently thanked me again for the kindness I had shown her many years ago, saying that I had saved her life. She mentioned that it was on that day fourteen years ago when I had saved her life.

Yet, in some way, she also saved mine. I am always trying to make new friends, many times those efforts do not bear fruit. To gain a friend who is so grateful for a small act of kindness, fourteen years down the road is a treasure to be cherished.

A young lady, who was once a stranger, is now a close friend. I think we may have both saved each other’s lives in some small way.

I am so thankful that I followed my heart on that day because her life was so worth saving; and in saving her life, I gained a very valuable friend.