The most touching letter Nate Eaton has received about Secret Santa

I get a lot of emails - but I don't think I've never received one like this. I asked "John" if I could share it. I hope it touches your heart as much as it did mine. (Some personal details have been edited out).
Hey Nate,
So I just did a quick search and I'm around 500 miles from Idaho Falls. I live in a sleepy little town in the Colorado mountains. However, I have a long relationship with Eastern Idaho. I come up about 2 times a year to fish various sections of the Henry's Fork. And coincidentally, I've been watching the Secret Santa videos for 2 years now...this season makes my third. If you've ever wanted to see a 37 year old man cry uncontrollably...I'll film and send you a video. 🙂
I was hoping I could drop Secret Santa a note...and let him know what he's done for me, from 500 miles away.
I won't give you a whole life story...but my 20's were marred by an addiction to alcohol. At the age of 30, I finally got sober. Two years after that, I decided to go to college. In May 2019...I received a bachelors degree.
In spite of all that progress...2020 has been a tough year, as it has for almost everyone. I lost my first job out of college, and have been unable to secure one since. I lost a family member in 2020. At the risk of sounding like a country song...my truck broke down and my dog died. I had to move from my 2 bedroom apartment...to a 1 bedroom cabin with no running water. There were some really dark times that followed. To be honest...I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Suicide became a real option. I was spending all my time feeling sorry for myself. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of depression all while being isolated. I felt like I had nothing left. I felt like I was doing all the things I was supposed to be doing, I just couldn't get ahead. I was hopeless.
But at the beginning of July...an East Idaho News Secret Santa video made its way into my YouTube feed, as they sometimes do. It was an older one, and I don't know why it showed up in my feed in July. But I think I must have watched 20 that day. And...whether it was God or not, I heard a voice in my head that said, "Go help someone". Instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself...go help someone.
I wasn't sure how to accomplish that. I didn't think I had anything to give. But I decided that before I gave up...I was gonna drag myself out of bed and attempt to do something good. I started first by walking down to the grocery store, and using what few dollars I had, bought trash bags. From there, I went down to the Colorado River (a river I have fished for 30 years) and cleaned up trash next to the river for 5 hours that first day. Four fisherman stopped me and thanked me that day. I have now got on a schedule and I pick up trash on my home river once a month.
Then I started volunteering at the food bank at the church down the street from my cabin. For those couple hours on those days...I was able to stop thinking about myself. I was able to stop feeling sorry for myself. Those feelings I was having, disappeared. So I decided to keep helping people.
I was given the opportunity to volunteer to teach some underprivileged kids computer programming. Every Wednesday we do exercises together over Zoom. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Watching their little faces when we run code that they wrote over the week, is the highlight of my week.
Since then...my life changed, for the better. I just keep being given opportunities to help others. All of the sudden, my life wasn't so empty.
Around comes November, and I was blessed with a job at a little family ski resort/shop in the next town over. I love it, I love going to work. I decided to apply and was accepted into a Masters program in Colorado. A good friend gave me a functional car...and a new dog came into my life. All of this happened in such quick succession...I thought it had to be a miracle.
I guess what I'd like Secret Santa to know...is that his deeds, even from 500 miles away, probably helped save my life. He inspired me to help people. I knew I couldn't change lives quite a Secret Santa does, and I have little money, but what I do have is a few skills. I learned that we all have something to give. I learned that in the darkest of times, helping people is what matters. Helping people saved my life. I've tried to develop it into a habit. I now look for the opportunity. I was in the grocery store parking lot the other day, and I saw a young lady (who was short) trying to scrape her window in my rearview mirror. It wasn't until I got back into my car that I realized I reacted almost reflexively when I grabbed my scraper and ran across the parking lot to help her.
Watch the video for the entire letter.

Видео The most touching letter Nate Eaton has received about Secret Santa канала East Idaho News