Though not always the case, most children’s inheritance are priceless family’s heirlooms – valuable possessions that have been passed down through generations. The most common are material things, such as pieces of jewelry, antique furniture, and old photographs.
But for David and his family, their inheritance came in the form of something they couldn’t hold in the palm of their hands – 80 acres of farmland.
Coming from a family of farmers, David has heard the story about their land over and over again – of how their ancestors managed it since time immemorial, and how it was taken away in just a snap.
Years ago, their inheritance was taken over by one of their distant relatives who didn’t have the family’s best interests in mind. It was an unfortunate circumstance, and at the time, it seemed irrevocable – the 80 acres of land was taken from their possession forever.
As he heard of this story multiple times during his childhood, David grew up dreaming of reclaiming that stretch of land and making the family farm whole again.
So when the opportunity came for him to get their priceless inheritance back, David – who was in his early twenties at the time – and his father, took the chance.
“Even though I dreamt of getting the land back for as long as I could remember, when the day came, I wasn’t ready,” he said.
The farm was put up for auction, and though David knew that it was a long shot, he and his father combined their money to bid for it, and they bravely went to the auction house.
When the pair arrived at the venue, their hearts sank. There were about 200 farmers in the area, most of them coming from larger farms. David and his father doubted if they will be able to succeed against them, but they didn’t allow this discouragement to completely quench their hope.
The moment of truth came when the initial bid was called. Their plan was to open it, and so they did. But when the judge called for the second bid, the most amazing and unusual thing happened.
The whole room fell silent.
The auctioneer was so shocked by this outcome, that he called for a break. They resumed the auction, but still, there were no other bidders who wanted the farm. In fact, they reconvened three times, but no other bids were made.
The auctioneer ended up awarding David and his father the winning bid – their family farm was once again complete.
The reason for all of this could be summed up in one word – respect.
The Nebraskan farming community knew about David’s family’s legacy, and they wanted them to get back their inheritance which was rightfully theirs. To this day, when David recalls that day in the auction house in 2011, he still gets emotional.
“I’ve had two profoundly humbling days in my life. The first was the day my son was born. The second was that unforgettable day at the Auction House,” he said.
This collective action is an incredible example of community, where people come together with one goal in mind. Even though no words were spoken, these individuals had it in their hearts to give this family what they believed truly belonged to them.
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(DISCLAIMER: Here on Positive Outlooks we do our best to authenticate the stories we share. We’ve seen this story floating online and covered extensively by other sites, we’ve tried to verify if it really transpired but it seems the specifics are missing such as names, pictures etc. However, we’re still sharing it simply because the story itself is powerful. We leave it up to you how you perceive it as such.)