Thanksgiving is a day when we gather with loved ones to share a festive dinner together and count our blessings. But how would you feel about inviting a stranger over for Thanksgiving dinner? That’s what this kind grandma ended up doing after an invitation text message mix-up! Yet, amazingly, her kindness resulted in a serendipitous new friendship!
In 2016, for Thanksgiving, Wanda Dench, a grandmother from Mesa, Arizona, sent a group text message to invite a few of her family members to Thanksgiving dinner, Arizona Republic reported. Unknowingly, one of the recipients who received her invitation was Jamal Hinton, whom she had never met.
Wanda thought she was sending a text message to her grandson, but it wasn’t so, and she ended up receiving a reply back from Jamal, a 17-year-old Valley high student, asking, “Who is this?” Wanda replied that it was his grandma.
Skeptical, Jamal asked for a picture to confirm who she was, and he sent one of himself. Upon seeing her, he responded, “You not my grandma,” then charmingly he added, “Can I still get a plate tho?”
Believing in following her heart and the power of kindness, Wanda said, “Of course you can. That’s what grandma’s do ... feed everyone.”
And as promised, on Thanksgiving in 2016, Wanda generously opened the door to welcome Jamal.
They exchanged a hug, and when Jamal told her that he'd forgotten to bring the pumpkin pie; she didn’t mind at all.
Jamal was grateful for Wanda’s kindness. “I'd never seen her before and she welcomed me into her home,” he said.
Meanwhile, a faithful Wanda believes “it’s come from God above,” adding that “He’s just using us as his tools and vessels to bring a message to others.”
And the tradition continued in 2017, as Wanda once again invited Jamal to her home. Then 18, the young man accepted and even brought his girlfriend, along with a homemade pumpkin pie.
During 2017, Jamal and Wanda got to know each other better via text message exchanges.
Wanda, like any grandma, offered words of wisdom to Jamal, such as to treat others the way you want to be treated, CBS News reported.
“We had a laugh and a good time,” Wanda told Arizona Republic.
The two friends planned to continue with the tradition for Thanksgiving in 2018 too.
“It was important for me to stay connected with this family, because they are like my family,” Jamal told CBS News.
Speaking of this fortuitous friendship, Wanda believes “there are no accidents” and feels “very blessed for something like this to happen,” CNN reported.
Jamal added, “It’s kinda good to see that there are still good people out there.”
Who’d have believed that a wrong text message would spark a beautiful friendship that would last a lifetime? Well, it wouldn’t have been possible were it not for Wanda’s kindness. Have an open mind and be kind, as you never know what you‘ll find!
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