Mark and Lindsey Lashley welcome their child with new friends.
This article was originally published on March 22, 2016
What happens when the proudest moment of a parent's life is also the strangest?
Just ask Mark and Lindsey Lashley from Georgia.
On March 19, they welcomed their first child Cason, a healthy baby boy, into the world. Nothing out of the ordinary there.
Then Cason's grandmother decided to send a text to family members about her newest bundle of joy. Again, nothing unusual there either.
But when that text went to a stranger named Dennis Williams, and he decided to join in on the celebration, things became even more interesting. Check out the exchange below.
The group text that started it all.
Photo from Deorick Williams's Facebook page.
And just like that, the Williams brothers arrived at the hospital with gifts and well-wishes for the new mom and dad.
The following note from the Lashley family was posted on Williams' Facebook page praising the brothers' kindness and generosity for providing a small token to a family they didn't even know a few hours beforehand.
The best sentiment from the Lashleys:
"If we all only had this kind of heart.”
This hilarious and heartwarming story is going viral for all the right reasons.
Plenty of stats and polls point to a depressing truth: Our world is becoming more and more divided by racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural lines.
But it's easy to forget just how far we've come:
Two random black dudes showed up in the hospital room of a white family to provide gifts and love to their newborn baby, and the Internet universally loved it. That, in itself, is an epic feat.
These families will be connected forever due to a random act of kindness that warmed the hearts of millions.
Not to mention, when baby Cason grows up, his parents will have one amazing birth story to share with him.
But first, let's share this great story with everyone who needs a smile.