This remarkable story perfectly embodies what Christmas is all about. Being able to share happiness, love and Christmas joy with your family is immensely important.
Melanie Wilson works at a large retail store and made a rather uncomfortable discovery on Christmas Eve 2016. She was just wrapping up her shift when one of the customers in the store told her that a man was shoplifting. He wasn’t very good it at as well, as his pockets were noticeably bulging.
Melanie immediately did the right thing and chased the shoplifter to his truck, where she confronted him with his actions.
The man didn’t deny what he did and practically begged Melanie not to contact the authorities. The woman was in a Christmas spirit and agreed not to tell the police if he’d come back inside and return all of the stolen goods.
The two also mutually agreed that they would do it silently, as they didn’t want to make a large fuss about it.
When Melanie asked the shoplifter to give the items back, her heart sank. He told her that his name was Shawn and admitted stealing smaller Christmas toys and decorations. It’s obvious that the man wanted to give these things to his family, but couldn’t afford to purchase them.
The woman then asked Shawn if he stole all of the stuff for his kids, which he confirmed. After chatting a bit, Melanie learned that the man had three children to care for at home, two kids of his own and his nephew.
In an instant, she made a decision that touched both of them.
Instead of putting all the items back, she took them to the register and paid for them herself. The total amount was around $75 and she gave all the goods to Shawn. Another shopper overheard what Shawn and Melanie were talking about and the mystery man offered to buy some things for Shawn’s family as well.
Melanie knew that Shawn wasn’t doing well financially and gave him an additional $25 Walmart gift card.
“I don’t know what you need, but surely you can use this to pick up something,” she said to him.
The woman says that Shawn started crying and couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Thank you so much for doing this to me. I just can’t believe this has happened.”
After they parted ways, Melanie needed to take a few minutes inside of her car to come to her senses. She recorded a video and her emotional and touching message quickly went viral with more than 43 million views.
“I don’t want anyone to tell me there is no God. There is a God, and he works in the most amazing ways. And He has touched me today. I’m not even a real religious person, but you can feel it in your heart, that’s all there is to it. You feel it in your heart. Merry Christmas.”
Such a remarkable, yet heartwarming Christmas story. Be sure to check out Melanie’s video below.
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