A grieving widow spent months living near her husband’s headstone in a cemetery before a stranger stepped in to change her life forever.
Losing someone we love can turn life upside down. Our days do not feel the same, loneliness hits us hard. At times, we do not know how to get out of that pain, and we keep it to ourselves.
But God sees what we are going through, and He shows His love in unexpected ways, just as He did for this grieving woman.
Rhea and her husband Eddie Holmes were married for 26 years. They were just about to buy their dream house in 2020. The very day their offer was accepted, Eddie died from a heart attack.
Everything changed in a heartbeat. Instead of moving into a new home Rhea used the down payment money to buy a plot at Oakwood Cemetery. She bought a bench there too so she could remember the sweet memories with her beloved husband.
Things got worse quickly. She lost her job. Depression set in. She was eventually evicted from her home. Rhea was too proud to go to a shelter. By May she decided to move to the only place she felt she still owned. She moved to the cemetery.
She spent her days volunteering at a food pantry and her nights sleeping on the ground by Eddie’s grave. “I assumed that I was going to die there,” she said later. She stayed there under the stars until the winter cold of December set in.
Then God sent help. A retired officer saw her and called the Syracuse police. Officer Jamie Pastorello showed up. He didn’t just see a trespasser. He saw a person who needed a hand. He decided he was not going to let her sleep outside again.
He paid for a hotel room out of his own pocket. Then he talked to the president of LeMoyne College to get her a room on campus during winter break. He even started a fundraiser to get her back on her feet.
Jamie connected her with a group called A Tiny Home for Good. Within twenty days Rhea went from the cold dirt of a graveyard to a place of her own. During their reunion she couldn’t stop hugging the man she calls her angel.
There are many people like Rhea around us. It may be someone close to us, or it may be a stranger we have never met. Let us take time to talk with them, understand their needs, and do what we can. That simple choice could make a lasting impact on their lives.
Please pray for Rhea as she settles into her new home and continues to heal from her loss.
WATCH: Grieving Widow Slept at Her Husband’s Grave Until a Stranger Changed Everything
