Generous couple leave $1,075 tip for struggling waitress
Khadijah Muhammad had no money to pay the bills after taking time off work to look after her ill mother
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Your support makes all the difference.A struggling Tennessee waitress was left a huge tip when a couple gave her $1,075 (£658) in a random act of kindness.
Khadijah Muhammad, who works at Cheddar’s café-restaurant in Knoxville, was given the sum after serving the pair, whose meal cost just $29.30 (£18).
The waitress was left in dire financial straits after giving up work to travel to Ohio, so that she could be at the bedside of her mother, who had suffered a heart attack.
Her mother recovered but Muhammad fell behind with her bills. When she left for work on 22 January, she was faced with having her electricity cut off the next day unless she could find enough money to pay the bill.
"All I wanted was to see my mother one more time,” she told WBIR. “With God's help, I managed to make it up there driving in the middle of the big snow storm that hit earlier this month. I was able to see her and she pulled through, thankfully.
“When I got back home in Knoxville, it started to sink in how much work I missed and that I was not going to be able to pay all of my bills. I've been trying to pick up any extra shifts that I can."
Muhammad said the couple, who were dining with their young son, "did not stand out”. “They were just nice folks,” she said.
When Muhammad returned to the table to collect the money, the receipt was turned upside down, which is usually the case when people are unhappy with the service.
“Then I picked it up and I just was in shock,” she said.
The $1,075 tip was accompanied by the message: “Jesus Blessed us and we were led to give it to you. God Bless!”
The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, told WBIR that they had recently left their church after moving to Knoxville from Ohio and were unsure how to designate the money budgeted for their monthly tithing.
They had made money on the sale of their previous home and the husband had received a bonus, so the pair decided to give the donation to Muhammad instead.
Remarkably, the couple were unaware of the waitress’ genuine need, but they said they were “thrilled” to have come to her aid.
"I just want to thank them. Thank them so much, because I'm humbled. I'm grateful. I do believe that God led you to me at this time in my life," said Muhammad.
"I hope and pray that someday I'm able to do this for somebody. And at the first opportunity I will do it."
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