A woman who had been texting her late father’s phone for the past four years received an emotional response on the fourth anniversary of his death. Chastity Patterson, from Arkansas, recently shared a screenshot of the touching text exchange on social media after ‘writing’ her dad to tell him that it had been a “tough” anniversary.

Chastity was unaware that her father’s phone number had been given to someone else, but when she texted her father on the fourth anniversary of his passing, she received a reply from a man, which she says is “[a] sign that everything is okay and I can let him rest.”

The text, which spoke of the events that had taken place in the past four years, including graduating from college, experiencing heartbreak, finding love again, and surviving cancer, received a response from a man named Brad, who wrote, “Hi sweetheart, I am not your father, but I have been getting all your messages for the past four years.”

Little did Chastity know that Brad had been profoundly affected by her messages. He too had experienced loss, when his daughter died suddenly in a car accident five years ago. Referring to Chastity’s texts as “a message from God,” he added, “I’m sorry you lost someone so close to you, but I have listened to you over the years and I have watched you grow and go through more than anyone.”

Brad went on to explain that he had never reached out because he feared breaking Chastity’s heart before saying that he considered her an “extraordinary woman” and wished his daughter had had the opportunity to “become the woman you are.”

After sharing the screenshots, Chastity’s post has gone viral, with more hundreds of thousands of responses and shares. Many commenters have also experienced the loss of loved ones and identified with Chastity and Brad’s stories.

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Since then, Chastity has shared that her dad was not her biological father, but she loved him immensely since he was the one took her skating and never missed a school dance, prom or a game. He also provided fatherly advice on boyfriends and life choices. In addition, he became a role model for other children in the community.