A little kindness can go a long, long way. That’s a heartwarming lesson a man named Shakeel Williams recently learned while working at a Chick-fil-A restaurant near McClellanville, South Carolina.
It all began when a man named Brian Smyth went into Chick-fil-A a year and a half ago to have a meal. He met Williams when the fast-food employee came over to Smyth to randomly offer him another drink — a kind gesture that went above and beyond.
After the two talked for a few minutes, Williams held the door open for Smyth and gave him a hug goodbye. Following the encounter, Smyth was so impressed with Williams that the two struck up a deep friendship that will forever change both men.
“He’s overcome a lot of adversity. He has sickle cell anemia. He has numerous strokes that have left him a little developmentally disabled,” Smyth told WCBD-TV of Williams. “But with all of that he still has something that I want. He has this sort of natural humanity that just shines through in everything he does.”
The customer soon got to know Williams and his family quite well, learning that Williams — also known as “Shack” by his friends and family — struggles with complications from those health issues, as the outlet reported.
Before long, Smyth, the president of a title agency, began to help pay for Williams’ medical bills. But he soon also decided that he needed to do something even bigger for Williams and his family members: build them a new home.
Last month, Smyth and his crew demolished the trailer that the Williams family lives in, surprising them with a totally new home, complete with the latest appliances. It was a kind gesture that left mom Tolunda Williams both overjoyed and thanking God.
“I thank God first of all, and thank God for my son,” she told WCBD-TV. “Shack treats somebody how you want them to treat you. It’s a blessing.”
It’s a beautiful example of how kindness begets kindness.