Chastity Patterson, a lovely young woman from Arkansas, faced a heartbreaking loss four years ago when her father passed away.
Despite his absence, she found solace in reaching out to him through daily text messages, sharing her life’s moments as if he were there to experience them with her.
This ritual of communication became a comforting part of her journey through grief.
Through her messages, Chastity expressed significant milestones in her life.
She talked about her college journey, graduation triumphs, and conquering cancer—events she wished she could share with her father in person.
These reflections in her notes helped her maintain a connection, easing the pain of his departure.
Then, the unexpected happened. One day, she began her message with, “Hey Dad, it’s me.” Anticipating another tough day, she sent it off, not expecting a reply. But to her surprise, she received one.
The number she had been texting all these years belonged to a man who had been profoundly touched by her messages.
He wasn’t her father, yet her words had given him something precious—a lifeline in his own grief after tragically losing his daughter in a car accident.
“Hello, my love,” the reply read. “For the past four years, I have received all of your communications, and though I am not your father, I have found comfort and understanding in them.
Your updates every night and every morning have been eagerly anticipated by me. In August 2014, I lost my dear daughter in a car accident, and your messages have given me a new reason to live.”
Such unexpected connections remind us of the depth of shared human experiences and how, even in our private struggles, we can offer hope and healing to others.
Her post on Facebook:
“I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and sharing my story. I never would have imagined the response it has gotten. I didn’t share to gain anything, I just wanted my friends and family to know that I was okay and this years wasn’t going to be hard for me.”
Of course, when something like this gains so much attention on the internet, you have to deal with people saying negative things as well. Chastity just hopes that her story proves that the way she chose to grieve is just as valid as anything else.
“If you take anything from this,” she wrote in another follow-up Facebook post, “know that everyone will experience pain and everyone will lose someone they love…
“No one can tell you how to cope and no one can tell you long, but you need to do it… HOWEVER you grieve is all on you and no one can judge you… So love the people you have now and tell them EVERYTHING, because when they are gone it will be too late to say sorry or how you really feel.”
