Heartwarming pic of little boy falling asleep in stranger's arms at football game goes viral

A heartwarming story of a woman opening her arms to a stranger’s nephew has gone viral. The woman reportedly only met the boy for 20 minutes and became a source of comfort for him the next time they saw each other.

At a time when racist stories flood the internet, this story of a white woman’s instant connection with a little black boy she only met once is a source of hope.

Star Balloon-Bradley, the aunt of the boy shared the story on Facebook. She said she and her nephew, Isaiah were watching a football game live at Lowndes High School in Valdosta Georgia when he walked up to a woman and “sat on her lap.” She observed, “they were talking like they knew each other.”

The woman and the three-year-old spent 20 minutes together that day before the woman had to leave to meet with her daughter. That first meeting turned out not to be their last as Balloon-Bradley recounts she and Isaiah saw her again another time.

“Isaiah walked right up to her smiling, crawled in her lap and laid his head down on her shoulder. She welcomed him with open arms,” Balloon-Bradley wrote. She also said the woman she identified later as Mrs. Angela was rocking Isaiah and patting his back “like [she] had given birth to him.”

Worried that Isaiah was inconveniencing Mrs. Angela, she tried to intervene only to find out that the woman was actually enjoying her time with Isaiah telling her “moments like this are priceless.” She discovered Mrs. Angela was a mother to a 15-year-old daughter and misses the opportunity of having her daughter sit on her lap and cuddle with her.

Learning about the woman’s bond with her son, Isaiah’s mother Thameka Miller was touched and expressed this in a separate post.

“I thank God for this moment and the friendship that has been formed! Isaiah has such a pure heart and he has a gift of discernment even at his young age! This truly brings tears to my eyes!”

Mrs. Angela herself was later overwhelmed with emotion after learning about Balloon-Bradley’s post where photos of her and Isaiah cuddling were shared.

“To God be all praise, glory, and honor! I have been overwhelmed with emotions today as I have read the post Star Balloon-Bradley shared. I am humbled by the kind words every one has spoken. Isaiah is absolutely adorable! I pray people will Jesus in all this & know His love is beyond measure & that is how I want to love & life my life. I’m not worthy but He sure is!”

Balloon-Bradley’s post has been shared more than 300,000 times. It is a testament to the goodness that still exists in people amid diversity. She said it best in her caption when she wrote,

“With all of the racial tension that’s going on I’m glad to see the pictures like these because it goes to show color don’t matter to a lot of people. It really don’t!! Arguing over stuff as such makes us miss the simple pleasures in life.”

This heartwarming story is a reminder of how kindness breeds positivity. If only people learned to warm up to others the way Mrs. Angela and Isaiah instantly connected, the world will be rid of the animosity that often clouds perceptions between black and white people.

In April, a video of a black boy being bullied by white Spanish kids in a playground went viral as it depicted racism at such an early age. The boy was purposely being shoved off from a slide and was later even hit on the head by one of the kids while his mother stood by. Instead of reprimanding the mean children, the mother of the black boy decided to leave the playground with her child who had no idea he was already being bullied. The sad part was that many other parents were around to see what was going on and no one bothered to stop the white boys from bullying the black boy.

If only people would learn to look past appearances and see beauty in others, regardless of race, much like Mrs. Angela and Isaiah, the world will be a much better place.