6-Year-Old Sam Begs Grocery Cashier to Find Santa to Help His Poor Bedridden Mom — Story of the Day

A 6-year-old boy begs a grocery store cashier to help him find Santa after his mother is bedridden following an accident. Santa grants his wish and pays him a visit, bringing an envelope addressed to him and his mother.

Just a week was left for Christmas, and customers were pouring in and out of a grocery store in Atlanta when Mr. Macmillan, the store's cashier, noticed a little boy, about six years old, standing outside the store, looking around, trying to find something.

Mr. Macmillan paused his work for a while and decided to approach the little boy, who was dressed in his school uniform. "Hi there, young man. Would you like to buy something from the store?" he gently asked.

The little boy, whose name was Sam, nodded his tiny head and pulled an envelope from his school bag. "I want to give this letter to Santa. My name is Sam Miller."

Mr. Macmillan gave the boy a friendly smile. "Are you looking for the mailbox in our store where you can send letters to Santa? I'm sorry, it was already full and we had to remove it for a while, but don't worry, you can still give me this letter. I'll include it with all the other letters."

"No!" Sam said firmly. "I want to send this to Santa soon so that EVERYTHING will be fine! It's a matter of life and death!" Mr. Macmillan became a little worried when the boy appeared stern. "Is everything okay, Sam? You seem a little worried."

"I want to find Santa soon," the boy cried. "My mommy needs help. Can you please help me find Santa?" he begged, sobbing and wiping his tears.

Sam's mother, Beatrice, raised him alone since she got pregnant, and everyone abandoned her. She worked hard and never regretted choosing to give birth to her beloved son. However, life wasn't easy for her, especially for the past few months. No matter how hard she tried, things weren't working out for her, especially financially.

She worked as a beautician at a beauty salon, and despite the low pay, she was happy with her job because it was close to her house, and she could easily return home to spend time with her son.

Unfortunately, as she was driving home from work one evening, a massive snowstorm hit their city. There were warnings all over the news, but Beatrice was so preoccupied with work that she didn't pay attention to them. She was so anxious to get home on time, but her car slipped on the snow and overturned, injuring her spine in the process.

She was unconscious for a few hours after the accident, and when she awoke, she was in a hospital, with her neighbor Mrs. Oliver and Sam by her bedside.

The doctors had discovered a contact named "home" from her phone and dialed the number, hoping to inform her relatives. However, little Sam answered the phone, and the doctor asked him to give it to an elder. Beatrice had instructed Mrs. Oliver to watch over Sam whenever she was not at home, so the boy went and gave the phone to Mrs. Oliver, who discovered Beatrice was in the hospital.

Beatrice's injury was severe as it had hurt her backbone. Doctors told her that she would need expensive surgery to walk again. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford it because she knew they were short on cash, so she asked the doctors for an early discharge, stating that she'd notify them in a few days.

Mrs. Oliver advised her to get the surgery done sooner, but the woman was adamant, and Mrs. Oliver had to give in. Ever since Beatrice returned home, she was bedridden. Little Sam understood his mother was sick and in pain, although she'd always smother him with kisses, even when her bed was turned into a hospital bed.

She'd often do puzzles with him and read him bedtime stories, and one night she read him a story about how a Christmas miracle happened when a little girl wrote a letter to Santa. "What is a miracle, mommy?" Sam asked her curiously that day.

"Well, it happens when you do something good for someone, Sam, and then God blesses you with what you want or something equally good." Sam's lips tilted in a smile. "I have always been a good boy, mommy. If I write a letter to Santa, can he do a miracle for me too?"

Beatrice smiled at Sam. "Of course, he can, honey. Santa always listens to good people. Anyway, it's getting late. You must go to bed on time so that Santa knows you're a good boy who listens to his mother."

"Okay, mommy!" The boy smiled then dashed to his room, but he didn't sleep that night. On his way back home that day, he'd noticed the mailbox at Mr. Macmillan's shop, so he decided to write a letter to Santa. The boy sat down at his study table that night and wrote:

Dear Santa,

My name is Sam, and I am 6 years old. I don't want toys, but I want my mom to be happy. She sleeps on the bed all the time, and she says she can't get up from it soon because she is sick. I'm sad because she is 32 years old and I am only 6. I need her for many more years, so please make her healthy. Mom says that you can do miracles. Can you please do it for me?

Thank you, Santa.

Love, Sam.

"What happened to your mom, Sam?" Mr. Macmillan asked the teary-eyed boy. Sam wiped his tears and told him the whole story as he held on to his letter to Santa. Mr. Macmillan's heart sank when he heard the boy narrate how his mom met with an accident and needed money for surgery. He knew he had to help her, so he came up with a plan.

"Can you give this letter to me, Sam? I know a secret method by which the letter can reach Santa quickly."

"Really?" his eyes widened. "Do you know where Santa lives?"

"Yes, Sam. I do. But it's a little secret because Santa doesn't like to share it with everyone."

"Wow!" Sam giggled as he handed the letter to Mr. Macmillan. "Please tell Santa my mommy needs help. Tell him I'm a good boy, and I always listen to my mom. Santa does miracles only for good children."

"Of course, I will, Sam. Now you should head home. Your mother must be waiting for you."

The boy waved a little goodbye to Mr. Macmillan, then walked away home happily, certain his letter would reach Santa and his mom would be fine. When Sam left, Mr. Macmillan opened the boy's letter and couldn't control his tears when he read it. He decided to help Sam and his mom and devised a plan.

On Christmas morning, Sam heard a knock on the door. He dashed to open it, only to find a man dressed as Santa Claus standing at his door. "Can I meet your mom, little boy?" he asked in a heavy voice. "I got your letter, and I'm here to help her!"

Sam's eyes widened and he yelled, "Mom, Santa is here! He came, mom!" The boy kept jumping in joy as he led Santa inside Beatrice's room. Beatrice was a little shocked. "I got your son's letter, ma'am. So I came here to give you a present."

Before Beatrice could say anything, the man dressed as Santa handed her an envelope. "I'm a bit busy today, ma'am. I hope this helps you!" he said and then left. When Beatrice opened the envelope, she discovered a letter and a $50,000 check inside! She opened the letter and started reading it.

Dear Mrs. Miller,

You have a lovely son. He cares about his mother a lot, and I sensed that when I read his letter. I was sad when I learned that you met with an accident and needed money for surgery. So I started a GoFundMe page, and that's how I collected the money. Thankfully, Sam's letter had your house address, so finding you didn't take long. Please don't be bothered because you don't know me and can't thank me. I hope this Christmas becomes a happy one for you and your son. Merry Christmas!

With love, Santa Claus.

Beatrice's eyes welled up with tears as she finished reading the letter. Little Sam became worried when he saw his mother crying. "What happened, mom? Why are you crying?"

"Thank you for your letter, Sam. Santa brought us money so that I could be treated in the hospital."

"Yay, mom! Santa did a miracle for us. I told you I was a good boy, mom!"

"You are, honey," Beatrice said, hugging her son. "By the way, how did you send the letter to Santa?"

"I gave the letter to Mr. Macmillan, mom. He has a shop at the end of the street. He told me he knew where Santa lives."

Beatrice wiped her tears and smiled at Sam. "We need to thank Mr. Macmillan, honey," she said, realizing who Santa was. "Let's invite him home for dinner."

"Sure, mom!" Sam replied with a smile, thanking Santa from the bottom of his heart for fulfilling his wish.

What can we learn from this story?

• Miracles do happen. Beatrice could have never been able to pay for her surgery, but eventually, she was able to. Thanks to Mr. Macmillan, who came across Sam and decided to help him.
• A little act of kindness can bring a miracle into someone's life. Mr. Macmillan's thoughtfulness of helping Sam and Beatrice brought a miracle in a devastated son and mother's life.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who gets stuck in the airport on Christmas Eve and meets his lover he lost almost 60 years ago.

This account is inspired by our reader's story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.