Good deeds happen in every part of the world, and living in the digital age allowed most of us to be witnesses to some of these in just a few clicks.
Most of the stories that we see online have a common theme — they happen during the most random times of the day. Just recently, at a local Walmart in Princeton, a nineteen-year-old employee was being praised for his generous gesture.
John Lope Jr. was busy doing his job as a cashier, until he came across a customer in panic, not knowing what to do when she realized that she was short on money to pay for her grocery bill.
“I just felt in my heart that the Lord told me I had to help her,” John said in an interview at KTVT. And so he did a pay a total of $110 to help the troubled woman. Good deeds are a rarity, so this gesture touched the other customers who saw it.
Laci Simms who witnessed the incident, and who was moved enough to share the story on Facebook expressed her joy upon seeing such a heartwarming event.
“I just witnessed this ‘kid’ pay for a cart of merchandise for a woman in obvious distress about her inability to pay. She was a few people ahead of us and when she had trouble paying her bill he stepped in and told her if she’d wait he would pay her total. Ya’ll, it was $110 dollars!”
“He just renewed my faith in humanity and the generation we are raising! Everyone share this so the world knows what a blessing John is to our community!”
Laci’s post currently has a total of 8,000 likes, 1,700 comments, and 3,600 worth of shares. When Lopez found out that his simple gesture of kindness and generosity reached this far on the internet, he was so surprised.
“Tuesday night I was up until 11 looking at the comments on the post,” Lopez said in his interview. “I was like, ‘This can’t be real.‘”
His co-workers from Walmart also expressed their gratitude and how proud they are of John. It’s also noteworthy to mention that John has been saving up for his college fund.
“Those who know John wouldn’t be surprised. He’s a kind, generous person and we couldn’t be more proud of him.” As said in their statement on the event.
Lopez also shares the deeper reason why it was second nature for him to do such a gesture. Growing up, his parents taught him to always go out of his way to do good deeds and help someone who needs it and to always put a smile on someone’s face.
This also explains his cheerful disposition at work. As Laci Simms shared on her post, “He is always singing, up beat, courteous, joyful and efficient. I don’t know John’s story, but I don’t think he is even 20 years old.”
Because of John’s gesture, it reached to the point that someone raised a GoFundMe for him. It has raised more than $33,000 and John plans to save it up for his college studies.
John’s act of kindness gave him the hearts of many people, as well as financial support on his future endeavors. It really is true that when you naturally do things for others out of love and genuine concern, the blessing that you deserve comes right back to you in an instant.
It’s not every day that you witness something like this, watch the news feature that CBS 11 did on John Lopez Jr.