Poor Widower Who Struggles to Feed His Adopted Triplets Gets Letter from Santa — Story of the Day

A poor widower with amputated legs and struggling to feed his children receives a letter from Santa one day that changes his life in unexpected ways.

When David married the love of his life, Kelly, the two decided to build their dream home together in a less known neighborhood of San Francisco, California. David was an orphan, born and raised in an orphanage in San Francisco and Kelly was the orphanage keeper's daughter.

The two often met when Kelly would accompany her father to the orphanage, and these encounters quickly turned into friendship. Years later, when David turned 20, he decided to confess his feelings to Kelly, and as he'd expected, she said yes.

However, when Kelly declared her intentions to marry David, her parents weren't impressed by the idea, especially Kelly's mother, because she wanted her to marry someone who came from a wealthy family. But to her shock, she discovered her daughter had chosen David, who worked part-time at a diner and was studying to become a lawyer.

Nevertheless, despite their disapproval, Kelly's parents caved in for their daughter's happiness but put forward a condition that they'd marry Kelly off only when David had secured a job.

David agreed to their request and worked hard for a few years until he grabbed a good opportunity at a reputable law firm. After that, he and Kelly got married and decided to start a new life.

Sadly, the first few years came as a struggle as they failed to have kids, and the treatments started taking a toll on Kelly's health. So, they decided to adopt kids and raise them as their own.

Initially, the couple intended to adopt only one child, but when they visited the orphanage for adoption, a set of newborn triplets caught their attention. David and Kelly felt a strange yet beautiful connection to the kids after learning their tragic story of being abandoned at the orphanage door one morning and decided to adopt the three beautiful babies.

Life seemed pleasant and complete when they finally found joy in becoming parents to three beautiful children, but tragedy struck them once again when David suffered an injury.

The man had gone to their home's construction site, where he suffered a leg injury, which led to surgery and later an amputated leg when he contracted a staph infection.

For a year, the man was put on bed rest by the doctor, and in the meantime, Kelly had to support her family. Since Kelly didn't have any certifications and was a mere 10th pass – due to her orthodox mother who raised her with the mentality that a woman's sole duty was to raise kids – Kelly struggled to find a job and landed one as a school bus driver.

Kelly could have asked her parents for assistance, but she knew if her mother found out, it would lead to her and David's divorce. That was something she didn't want.

So she worked day and night tirelessly to support her family, which eventually took a toll on her body and she passed away a year later. David, who was now a widower and the father of three adorable triplets, was at a loss for what to do.

He'd found a job as a lawyer's assistant, but his boss paid him peanuts. His wife had died, her parents had severed all ties with him, blaming him for their daughter's death, and he had spent most of his savings in the previous year because it was difficult to care for three children with his mere income.

In fact, he'd put the dream home's construction on hold for a while, sold their old flat, and moved into an old apartment, which he had to pay monthly rent.

From that point forward, life was a struggle for David Swallow and his children in ways that no words could describe. However, everything changed one Christmas morning when David heard the doorbell ring.

Except for people who showed up with notices that he hadn't paid his bills on time, no one had visited him or his house in the previous five years. So David hesitated for a moment before answering the door, but when he opened it, he was surprised to see a man dressed as Santa on his doorstep.

"Good day, Mr. Swallow. I have a gift for you from someone who adores you a lot. Have a merry Christmas!"

"This must be some sort of joke! Santa, seriously?!" David laughed at the man. "Look, Mr. Santa. I guess you're at the wrong house. I don't have a family who'd send us anything. We have spent several Christmases alone."

"Don't be so judgemental, young man," the man smiled at him. "You never know there might be people who still care about you. Even God says that you shouldn't lose hope," he said and handed over a letter to David.

David was about to slam the door in his face, convinced that he was a con man. But as he held the letter in his hand, the address on the top of the envelope piqued his curiosity. "David Swallow, 211 Main St., San Francisco, CA 94105-1905, USA," it read.

The letter was indeed for him. But who had sent it? He wondered, opening the envelope and inspecting its contents. Inside, he found health insurance for a year and a life-changing gift of $100,000 for house improvements.

"Excuse me!" he called out to the man, who had just left. "Can you please tell me who sent the letter?"

"Sure, Mr. Swallow," the man said as he turned around. "How about a cup of tea in exchange?"

David nodded at the man and brought him inside. As the man sipped his tea, he thanked David and proceeded to tell him the entire story.

It turned out that the man dressed as Santa was sent by 82-year-old Calvin Turner, a wealthy businessman. His wife had died in a car accident three years ago, and the man had been running a program in collaboration with a news station where he assisted needy families.

Mr. Turner, who didn't have any children, felt very lonely during Christmas ever since his wife passed away, and it was then that he decided to make someone's life better every Christmas. That year, he learned about David when Kelly's sister shared his story with the news station.

When David learned the entire story, he called Kelly's sister to thank her and invited Mr. Turner over for Christmas dinner that year. Mr. Turner enthusiastically accepted the invitation, and he has since visited David's home and cared for his three children.

The children have grown quite close to him over the years and call him Grandpa affectionately, and Mr. Turner, who regretted never having a family, now spends most of his time with David's children.

Meanwhile, David quit his previous job as a lawyer's assistant, started a new job at Mr. Turner's firm, and is now raising his children on his own.

What can we learn from this story?

• Families are built with love and not necessarily by blood. David's kids call Mr. Turner Grandpa because he cares for them and loves them. Mr. Turner, too, regards David as nothing less than a family member.
• God has a plan for each and every one of us. David's life had been filled with difficulties, and he had never imagined receiving assistance from anyone, but God sent him Mr. Turner, who changed his life.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an orphan boy who waits for his mother at a bus stop until a woman gets off the bus and offers him help.

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.