An encounter between a Georgia woman and a man who once helped her came full circle, proving that God places certain people in your life for a significant reason.
When TunDe Hector was once down on her luck, she met a man who would change her life for the better.
Three years later, she would unknowingly do the same for him.
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On that fateful 2014 day, Hector had run out of gas and only had a mere $5 in her pocket, CBS News reported. It was pouring down rain, and she had a long walk ahead of her.
That’s when Chris Wright, who was driving to church with his family, spotted Hector on the side of the road.
Wright dropped his wife off at church and told her he’d be right back, he said.
“I have to go back. I have to help her,” Wright’s wife, Carmen, recalled her husband telling her.
Carmen Wright said that although her husband had never picked someone up from the side of the road before, he was “raised” to do good.
“You know when you have an urge and a desire something to do good? He was raised that way,” she said. “He’s kind and generous to everyone. He’d never picked up anybody before, but he felt compelled.”
Wright never expected to see Hector again, but their paths crossed again after his mother, Judy, fell ill with Parkinson’s disease.
Judy’s health had been failing fast, and in June, doctors told the family she only had weeks to live.
In her final days, Judy grew particularly close to one of the nurse’s aides the Wright family had brought in to help care for Judy.
One day, Judy and her husband, Phil, introduced the nurse’s aide to her son, and she happened to tell the story of her 2014 encounter with a man who circled back to help her after she ran out of gas. Right away, Chris knew.
“That was me,” he said, stunning the entire room.
“The encounter that had blessed them both three years ago, came full-circle,” Carmen Wright said. “We don’t believe in coincidence. We’re a family of faith.”
Two weeks later, on July 9, Judy died.
It was Hector’s birthday, and even though she had the day off, she rushed to Judy’s home to be by her family’s side.
“She cared for her in the most respectful way,” Carmen Wright said. “She had the utmost respect for human life.”
Hector continued to visit with Phil after Judy’s death. Her dedication to the family meant to much to them, that in lieu of sending flowers, they asked well-wishers to donate to Hector’s college fund for nursing school.
“We overheard her outside talking to an advisor. She owed them money for a few classes,” Carmen explained. “She’s trying to get to nursing school. We thought we might as well try.”
The Wright family created a YouCaring page for Hector hoping to raise $1,000, but within 45 minutes, their campaign raised nearly $20,000.
The site had raised more than $27,000 for Hector’s schooling as of Thursday afternoon.
When they shared the good news with Hector, she couldn’t believe it.
“Oh Lord have mercy. Lord, you’re so good to me,” she told the Wright family. “You’re kidding me.”
The video Carmen Wright posted of Hector when she learned the news had been viewed more than 1 million times.
Carmen Wright said that they now consider Hector as family.
“I don’t know why God chose our two families,” Carmen said. “But she’s family. It’s like she’s known us forever.”
(H/T: CBS News)