"I could tell she’d been crying,” said 32-year-old Applebee’s waiter Kasey Simmons. “I don’t like anyone to have a crappy day.”

These thoughts were in the forefront of Simmons’ mind as he witnessed Mrs. Sullivan put her items on the checkout conveyor. To most, she would have seemed like any other customer in line that day at the Kroger in Little Elm, Texas..

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“As soon as she took out her credit card, I said ‘I got it.’” Simmons paid for Mrs. Sullivan’s $17.00 grocery bill, and from a heart of compassion, continued to give even more.

“I wrote down my email address and phone number. I told her, ‘Look, I work at Applebee’s, I usually close, which means I’m there till 2 a.m. If you can’t sleep and want to talk, I’ll buy you a dessert or coffee.’”

On his shift the next evening, Simmons served an unusually small order: a single .37 cent flavored water. Shortly after, the customer left quietly, leaving behind the paid bill and a small note on a napkin:

“On behalf of the Sullivan family, I want to thank you for being the person you are. On one of the most depressing days of the year, (the death of my father, 3 year anniversary) you made my mother’s day wonderful. She has been smiling since you did what you did. Her grocery was only $17.00, and you insisted on paying and told her she was a very beautiful woman.”

Courtesy of Kasey Simmons

And on the bill? An additional $500.00 tip — a gift from the Sullivan family for making such a sorrowful anniversary brighter, and for showing such love to a grieving wife and mother.

Courtesy of Kasey Simmons

Simmons saw the tears in Mrs. Sullivan’s eyes, recognized the grief in her heart, and compassionately acted — himself being no stranger to the pain of loss and the grief that follows. “My daughter died four years ago when she was just 2 months old. I know what it’s like to lose somebody.”

From his own grief, Kasey Simmons learned the transformative power of simple acts of compassion, and from his heart of compassion, helped bring joy to a wife and mother in the midst of great pain.

Learning From this Incredible Story of Compassion

What can we learn from Kasey Simmons’ act of compassion, and how can we apply his example to the grieving and hurting people around us?