The world can often feel like a dark and lonely place—kindness and human connection seem to be fading in a society that’s become increasingly individualistic and self-centered. But sometimes, all it takes is looking at our own children to remember how things should be.
Children see the world with pure hearts, free from prejudice. No one is born with hate, and their small acts of kindness can remind us of the goodness we sometimes forget exists.
A perfect example of this happened a few years ago when a 5-year-old boy named Josiah moved the world to tears with a simple but powerful gesture at a Waffle House.
It was just another day at Waffle House in Alabama for 5-year-old Josiah and his mom, Ava — until he noticed something that didn’t sit right with him.
Across the restaurant sat a man who looked worn down, his clothes tattered and dirty. He seemed lost in thought, alone in a world that had clearly been unkind to him.
Josiah, with the innocent curiosity of a child, started asking his mom questions. Ava gently explained that the man was homeless.
”What does that mean?”, the little Alabama boy asked his mom.
Ava told her son that it meant the man didn’t have a home, to which he responded, ”Where is his house? Where is his family? Where does he keep his groceries?”
Josiah was heartbroken. But instead of just feeling sad, he decided to do something about it.
Clutching a menu in his tiny hands, Josiah walked right up to the man and offered to buy him a meal. The man, surprised and touched, hesitated but said he’d be happy with just a cheeseburger. But Josiah made sure he knew he could choose anything he wanted.
His mother recalls that when the man hesitantly asked if he could have some bacon, she warmly told him, “Get as much bacon as you’d like.”
As the man received his hot meal, tears welled up in his eyes. Overwhelmed by the kindness of this little boy, he couldn’t hold back his emotions — and neither could the other diners in the restaurant.
But Josiah wasn’t done yet.
Just as the man was about to start eating, Josiah stopped him, saying he wanted to “say the blessing with him.” With a voice loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear, he began to sing:
“God our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you. For our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen.”
Right there in the middle of Waffle House, the 5-year-old did sang for the man, a heartfelt song of love and hope. The man cried. The entire restaurant cried.
Josiah’s small act of kindness turned into something much bigger — proof that compassion has no age limit and that one good deed can change someone’s day, or even their life.
We can all learn something from this little boy. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something – share this story if you agree!
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