Do you believe that we meet people for a reason? It could be because they are meant to teach us a lesson or could be because God sent them over to protect us.
Being a parent is one of the many gifts of life but it is not easy to be one especially if you have no one to support and help you.
When Rubin Swift, a deli owner from Cleveland, Ohio, found out that he had a sole custody of his four-day-old baby girl, Ru-Andria, he packed up his bags and fly all the way to Ohio, Phoenix to pick up his daughter.
Just when he thought that everything was going smoothly for the both of them, he was stopped at the Frontier Airlines gate at the Phoenix airport and was informed that he and his baby girl couldn’t board the plane. Rubin needs to have a proof of her age because it is the airline’s policy that an infant must be at least seven days old to fly.
Rubin knew it would take up to a week to get the proper documentation needed. He ran out of options and didn’t know what to do. He even thought of sleeping on the airport floor but was scared that if the security saw him sleeping at the airport with his baby, they would take her away and put him in jail for neglect.
“ I was out of money and the hospital told me that I wouldn’t be able to get a birth certificate for seven days. I was worried that if security saw me sleeping at the airport with a newborn, they’d take her away from me and charge me with neglect. I was stuck.”
Feeling lost, he reached out to his wife, Tiffany, and told her of his situation.
“ When he called me from the airport and told me that they weren’t going to let him fly until he could get a birth certificate in four days, I felt panicked… I didn’t want him to sleep at the airport. I was scared because it looked like we were out of options.”
Rubin didn’t know what else to do until he remembered Joy, a senior citizen and NICU volunteer, whom he met at the hospital, gave her number to him. They built a good relationship the moment Rubin entered the room. Joy even offered to drive them to the airport on the day he was scheduled to leave.
Without hesitation, he called the 78-year-old lady.
Joy, without a second thought, went back to the airport to pick him up and his sweet little angel.
“I didn’t expect her to say, ‘I’m coming to get you and take you home.’ So, I’m thinking, ‘She is going to drive me back to Cleveland’ but she actually brought me to her house and feeding me and making sure my baby is alright.” said Rubin.
Rubin couldn’t believe how good Joy is, she is indeed a blessing to him and Ru-Andria.
“I’m black and she is white. I’m a stranger who grew up in the projects in the bronx and she’s a great-grandmother who recently lost her husband. She knew very little about me and yet, she took me in. Color wasn’t an issue to her. She showed me that in this crazy world, there is still compassion.“
When the birth certificate was ready and Rubin and her baby girl could finally head home, he vowed to stay in touch with Joy which he did. They regularly visited each other via FaceTime.
Would you agree with me if I say that this story proves that faith in humanity was restored? Let us know! Don’t forget to like and share this article to your friends and family. Let us spread the good news!
