When Joyce Rhinehart took her grandson Blake out for some ice cream after his tennis lesson recently, she had no idea that something incredibly powerful would happen.

When they arrived at Rita’s Italian Ice, Joyce spotted a family enjoying their ice cream together, and for some reason, she felt compelled to offer to take a photo of them. The family agreed, and after snapping a photo of them, Joyce handed her cellphone to one of the daughters, telling her to text herself the image. None of them knew at the time just how much this photo would end up meaning to them.

“I left to take Blake home and explained to him how I have done this before when I see cute family moments of total strangers so they can have the memory,” Joyce recalled. “Usually, I do this on vacation.”

Just a few days later, Joyce received a text from a mysterious number that gave her goosebumps.

“Dear Madam, you took our picture in front of Rita’s on June 8th,” the text read. “My wife passed away yesterday and this is the last picture we have together as a family. Please accept my deepest gratitude for your kindness, it means the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Though Joyce was saddened by the text, she was also happy that she had been able to capture a photo that meant so much to this family. She went public with the story to encourage others to take opportunities like the one that she did she offered to take the photo.

“Never underestimate a simple act of random kindness,” Joyce said. “My heart is heavy for this sweet family that I don’t even know and the tremendous gift that was left to them because I listened to my gut that day. I’m in awe! This has the hand of God all over it!”