Sometimes it's those that have nothing that are able to give the best gifts of all.
That's what happened to Rachel Uretsky-Pratt. She's a teacher at Washington State Elementary school and is well-liked by staff and students. Like many teachers, during the Christmas season she receives small gifts like coffee gift cards, chocolates or maybe the occassional bottle of wine.
However this year she received something different and it moved her to tears.
She took to Facebook to share the moving experience with the world, but she couldn't have expected her post to spread as far as it has.
"To put life into perspective," she wrote. "Today was the last day before our winter break. We will have two weeks off to rest with our families and loved ones over the holidays then head back to school in 2019.
Today I received some chocolates, sweet handmade notes, some jewelry, but these Lucky Charm marshmallows stood out to me the most."
She received a plastic wrapped collection of Lucky Charm marshmallows. The marshmallows are admittedly the best part of the cereal, but it still seemed a strange gift. The importance of them was not lost on Pratt however. She explained that "100% of her school" was on free/reduced lunch and also received free breakfast. In short, most of the students she taught were from lower income families.
"This kiddo wanted to get me something, but he had nothing to give," she wrote in her Facebook post.
"So rather than give me nothing, this student opened up her free breakfast cereal this morning, took the packaging of her spork, straw, and napkin, and finally took the time to take every marshmallow out of her cereal to put in a bag"”for me."
It's such a unique and touching gesture. No wonder word has spread like it has. Since her post just before Christmas, Pratt's message has been shared over one hundred thousand times. It's been seen by millions of people all around the world.
She finishes her profound post with a lesson we can all learn from the loving teacher.
"Be grateful for what you have, and what others give you. It all truly comes from the deepest parts of their hearts."