Forget the five stages of grief. Experiencing loss is always hard and everyone handles it in different ways.

A woman who texted her dead father everyday for four years claims she received an emotional reply on the anniversary of his passing from a grieving dad.

Chastity Patterson, 23, from Arkansas, USA, had been sending her father daily life updates to stay connected to her dad even though he passed away in 2015.

To mark the four year anniversary of his death, Chastity wrote: “Tomorrow is going to be a tough day again!

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“It’s been 4 years since I lost you and not a day goes by that I don’t miss you.”

Looking back on what’s changed in her life since then, Chastity explained how she has beaten cancer, graduated university and had her heart broken.

She continued: “I picked my head up and became an even stronger woman. I lost all my friends and hit rock bottom but I found someone who came into my life and saved me.”

Chastity then went on to reassure her father that she is “still driving momma crazy” and “keeping her on her toes” in his absence.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me the most,” she wrote.

Admitting that she is “afraid of marriage”, Chastity added: “I’ll have to walk that long aisle alone and you won’t be there to tell me everything will be okay, I’m doing great, you would be so proud of the woman I have become …”

Drawing her emotional text to a humorous end, she added that her “smart mouth” and “attitude has not changed”.

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She concluded: “I just wanted to say I love you and I really do miss you!”

After she sent the lengthy message, Chastity claims she got a reply from a grieving father who has allegedly been receiving her daily messages for the past four years.

Introducing himself as Brad, the father said: “I lose my daughter in a car wreck in August 2014 and your messages have kept me alive.”

Despite never replying to Chastity’s texts, the man wrote: “I’m sorry you lost someone so close to you but I have listened to you over the years and I have watched you grow and go through more than anyone.

“I have wanted to text you back for years but I didn’t want to break your heart. You are an extraordinary woman and I wish my daughter would have become the woman you are.”

He then went on to tell Chastity how proud her father would have been of her and that their chance correspondence was a “sign from God.”

He signed off: “Take care and I look forward to your update tomorrow.”

After she received the shock reply, Chastity then posted the exchange on Facebook where it has racked up over 141,000 “likes” and 272,000 shares.

She wrote: “I text my dad everyday to let him know how my day goes for the past four years! Today was my sign that everything is okay and I can let him rest.”

Following the extraordinary response from other users, Chastity then went on to explain in a separate post that Jason Ligons was not her biological dad but was the main father figure in her life who “never missed a school dance, prom, or my games”.

She added: “I’ve cried with him, told him everything and even became very independent because he took the time to love me and show me what happiness looks like. So YES Jason was my father but he was a role model for many kids in our town.”

This story first appeared in The Sun and has been republished here with permission