When a faithful customer stopped showing up at a Florida restaurant, a chef noticed right away, and his concern helped save his life.
Charlie Hicks is 78 years old. For ten whole years, he went to the Shrimp Basket restaurant in Pensacola, Florida twice every single day. He ordered the exact same thing each time.
A cup of gumbo with light rice and no cracker. Same order for lunch. Same order for dinner. Every single day.
Chef Donell Stallworth got to know Charlie really well. “Mr. Hicks don’t miss no days,” Stallworth said. “We open the doors up, Mr. Hicks is there to greet us.” You could set your clock by him.
Then last September, Charlie didn’t show up. One day passed. Then another. Then several more days. Stallworth knew right away that something was very wrong. “I knew then something was wrong,” he said.
Stallworth didn’t wait. He left work right in the middle of his shift and drove straight to Charlie’s apartment. He knocked and knocked on the door. Nobody answered. He kept knocking. Still nothing.
Stallworth was about to turn around and leave. Then he heard something. “And right when I was going to turn, I heard a voice just like, ‘Help,'” Stallworth remembered. He opened the door.
Charlie was lying on the ground. “I didn’t know what his condition was,” Stallworth said. “That was the scariest part right there.”
Nobody knows exactly how long Charlie had been lying there on that floor. Maybe a few days. He was very dehydrated. He had two broken ribs. But because Stallworth came looking for him, Charlie survived.
The restaurant staff didn’t just save Charlie’s life that day. They decided he would never be alone again. First, they brought his gumbo to him at the hospital.
Then they did something even more amazing. They helped Charlie find a new apartment right next door to the restaurant. That way, the staff could always keep an eye on him.
They didn’t stop there. They got Charlie new appliances. They fixed up his whole place and made it nice for him.
Three months after his accident, Charlie walked back into the Shrimp Basket. “I’m glad to have you back buddy,” Stallworth told him.
Charlie sat down at his favorite table. He ordered his favorite dish. Everything was just like it used to be. Except now their friendship was even deeper.
“We made a connection,” Charlie said. “We made a connection.”
Stallworth said having Charlie live right next door “is the best thing going.” He explained what Charlie means to everyone there. “He’s that uncle. He’s that grandfather. He’s that best friend. He’s all in one.”
This story touches my heart because it shows us what real community looks like. Stallworth didn’t have to leave work that day. He could have waited. But he listened to that worried feeling and acted on it.
The restaurant staff didn’t have to help Charlie find a new home or buy him appliances. But they did it anyway.
We can see how God worked through this moment. Charlie was alone and in desperate need of help. God heard his prayers and placed a concern in the chef’s heart at just the right time. When Stallworth responded to that gentle nudge, it saved Charlie’s life.
God often speaks to us through quiet whispers and small nudges in our hearts. When we listen and respond, we may become the help someone is praying for.
WATCH: Chef Goes Looking for Loyal Customer and Saves His Life
