In Utah, a lonely man walked into a Denny’s and approached the hostess with an unusual request. Feeling a little creeped, she showed him to his seat, where he ended up sitting by himself for hours. After he finally got up and walked out, the waitress saw what he had been doing the whole time, and it left the entire place in complete shock.

Families filled the restaurant on a particularly busy day, and employees were hurrying trying to accommodate them. The strange man came in with a look in his eyes that caught the hostess immediately off guard. When he specifically asked, “Can I have a waitress who is a single mother?” the woman felt that it was very odd, but she sat him in Crystal’s section anyway. She watched him throughout his time there, hoping to figure out what his intentions were.

The woman wrote in a Facebook post that this stranger sat at his table for two hours, just watching people. Multiple families had come and gone in his time, as this guy kept to himself, not ordering much or talking to anyone. Other patrons passed by his table as they left, not bothering to make eye contact with him. However, the woman who sat him eventually realized was going on.

“Seven families came in and ate while you were there and you paid every one of their bills, over $1,000 you paid for people you didn’t even know,” the Denny’s worker wrote. Then she asked him,”Why did you do that?” and got a reply she wasn’t expecting, as a look came over his face when answering.

Angel at Denny’s who sat alone for hours

“Family is everything, I’ve lost all mine,” the generous man said, as the woman looked into his eyes and saw the pain. The hostess hurried off, saddened by this heartbroken man, who she didn’t want to see the tears welling up in her own eyes. She left so quickly that she didn’t even see what he had left for Crystal. By the time she did, the man she called an “angel” was long gone.

Hoping to find the good Samaritan through her public post, the waitress shared something about his server she thought he should know. On top of having paid for several families to eat for free that day, as they spent valuable time with each other, he left a special gift for his waitress.

On his personal tab that totaled just $21.34, the man tipped Crystal $1,500, which for this person meant more than he knew. Crystal was living in a shelter with her young son, desperate but feeling hopeless about how she was going to get them out. The night before the man came into the Denny’s, the struggling single mom had spent hours praying for a miracle. The next day, God sent an angel, with broken wings but a heart for what matters most.

Because of this man, Crystal and her son get to move into a safe place they can call home. The moved woman concluded her post by saying, “You left before any of us could say thank you, I hope you read this because you’re truly an amazing person and you stole the hearts of every one of us here.”

This man lost his entire family before realizing that it was all he ever needed and wanted in life, but he can’t get that time back. Instead of being bitter and jealous of others who have it, he blessed them, in hopes that they cherish it before it’s gone. One day, hopefully soon, this sweet person will find himself surrounded by people who he can call his family.