One Murfreesboro mother said a knock at her front door served as a reminder that help sometimes comes from a stranger.
On Friday, Jennifer Edwards planned to take her three-year-old son Eli to the hospital for throat surgery to fight an autoimmune inflammatory disease doctors diagnosed about six months prior. Hours before Eli’s appointment, a concrete pourer named Glen Mitchell came to Jennifer’s front step.
“He said, ‘For the next couple of days, we might be walking through your backyard,’” said Javon Edwards, Jennifer’s fourteen-year-old son. “He said, ‘Here's $50, thank you for letting us walk through there."
When Jennifer came to the front door to thank Mitchell, she mentioned Eli’s appointment for surgery.
“He said to give him the $50 back, which I thought was kind of mean,” Jennifer said.
But mean isn’t Glen Mitchell.
“He hands me $500 and he simply says I work week to week, go take care of your little boy, my name is Glen,” Jennifer said. “Then he just walked away.”
For Jennifer, the money came at a time when she’d be home with Eli for two weeks of post-surgery recovery, meaning two weeks of unpaid time away from work.
“August just took me to my knees,” she said. “My AC went out, Eli was sick for a week and a half, and then doctors said we need to try this surgery.”
Jennifer posted her interaction with Mitchell on Facebook, which has since been shared nearly 1,000 times. Others shared their interactions with Glen in the comments.
“My company was on a landscape job a few weeks back. He saw all of my boys out there helping me. He pulled in and gave each of my boys a $50 bill for their hard work,” one Facebook user posted.
For Jennifer, Glen has been a reminder that faith can come from the most unexpected places.
“It's God, it's all it can be,” she said. “I know people have their opinions, but that's all it is. He was the embodiment and the answer to a prayer I had made earlier that morning.”
Glen Mitchell is the owner of Affordable Driveways and Patios by Glen in Murfreesboro.
