[pullquote align=”left” background=”on”]In your light, I learn how to love.                  – Rumi[/pullquote]

When 8-year-old Myles Eckert found a $20 bill in the parking lot of his favorite family restaurant, his first thought was to purchase a video game.

But then, his eyes locked onto another young man, a US Army soldier standing in full uniform. The soldier was Lt. Col. Frank Dailey, whose life was ‘forever changed’ by the kindness of this little boy.  He was there to have breakfast with his wife and family, just like any other day.

But what happened next is beyond anything anyone could have expected.

You see, just as Lt. Col. Dailey and his family were just being seated, young Myles was sitting one booth over and busy hatching his plan.

He had begged his mother for a pencil and scrap of paper, and with painstaking care…penned the following words:

[blockquote source=”Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.“]Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now,” the note said. “I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your lucky day! Thank you for your service.[/blockquote]

Eckert’s father, Army Sgt. Andy Eckert, had been killed in Iraq when Myles was just a few weeks old. And to this day, the 8-year-old can only imagine what he might have been like.

“I imagine him as a really nice person and somebody that would be really fun,” he told CBS News.

When Myles finished his note, he folded it up and sent it with the $20 bill to the table of the unsuspecting soldier.

When asked his reason for sharing his newfound wealth, he answered simply, “Because, he’s a soldier and soldiers remind me of my Dad.”

Following their breakfast, Myles asked his mother if she might make a quick stop on the way home.

“He wanted to go see his dad,” said his mother Tiffany. And on this day, Myles wanted very much to go on his own – presumably, to share the story of his generosity with his dad.

When asked what he thought of the note, Dailey replied, “I look at it everyday” – and adding, that this young man’s gesture has given him a ‘lifetime of direction.”

Well done, little Myles – I think your daddy would be so very proud of you.