Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. – Matthew 25:40
By Beverly Lomosad
Sunday is church day for Chris Wright and his household (Joshua 24:15). They were enroute to church in a car one Sunday when Chris spotted a woman walking on the side of the road, gas can in hand. After taking his family to church, Chris decided to circle back and found the woman, who was walking to a gas station about a mile away after she had run out of gas. She fell on hard times while in the middle of a divorce; on this day, she had $5 to live on. Chris drove her to the gas station, filled her gas can, took her back to her car, and gave her all the cash he had in his wallet: $40. Then they parted ways, forgetting to even introduce themselves to each other. But Chris did mention to the woman that he attended Cornerstone Church right in Athens, Georgia. And that’s all that TunDe Hector, a pastor’s daughter, remembered of the man who helped her that day in 2014 when they unwittingly crossed paths again three years after they had first met.
In 2017, Judy, the mother of Chris, was extremely ill with complications from Parkinson’s disease and needed constant nursing care throughout each day. In the unfolding of circumstances that Chris described as divinely orchestrated, TunDe, a nursing aide, showed up to care for Judy. Some time had passed before TunDe learned, during one of her work shifts with Judy, that Chris fellowshipped at Cornerstone Church. When she did, she recounted every detail of how a man from that church showed her a random act of kindness years ago. “That was me!” a stunned Chris exclaimed. Describing that moment, Chris said: “Tears were shed, and God was praised because we don’t believe in coincidence. We knew, at that moment, that God had woven every fiber of this story together.”
When Judy passed away on July 9, 2017, the Wright family took it as an opportunity to thank TunDe for the loving care that she had provided. The Wrights asked relatives and friends that, in lieu of flowers, they gave to an online fundraiser they had started for TunDe’s college-education fund. The response was tremendous, making the fundraiser a huge success with nearly $40,000 pulled in. TunDe earned her nursing degree in 2022.
Do you believe in angels? The Bible (Hebrews 1:14) describes angels as ministering spirits (or God’s servants). In a sense, wasn’t Chris an angel to TunDe as she was to Judy and the Wright family? “We are the hands and feet of Jesus” is a widely used phrase in Christian circles to exhort believers to live out their faith through tangible acts of love and kindness. Jesus said, up in heaven, He receives the service of His people done for those in need – described broadly in the Bible as the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and incarcerated (Matthew 25:35-40). Sometimes, finding a calling is as simple as finding people in need. Serving them is serving God.
CALL TO ACTION
A life with God starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
- PRAY OUT LOUD: “Father in heaven, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that he died on the cross for my sins. I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins. I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Savior and Lord. Amen.”
- WHAT’S NEXT: Be part of a good, Bible-based church.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the New International Version of the Bible.