It seems like the older a person gets, the less they’re deemed worthy. Some people in the elderly generation are treated like they’re just taking up space or like their days are numbered. Except every day that each one of us is alive is a gift and the value of life is the same for anyone and everyone.
This is the story of a man who made it past 100 only to realize that he was completely alone and with no place to call home. Despite having raised 11 kids of his own, none of Don Felipe Reyes’s offspring had welcomed him, and they left him to fend for himself…until a stranger drove by him one day.
The Kindness Of One Woman’s Heart
Benita Dearz / Facebook
It all started when a woman from Coahuila, Mexico, Benita Dearzr, was driving randomly one day and saw an old man walking by her. Benita felt bad for the man who could hardly walk and stopped the car without hesitation to ask him if she could offer him a ride to wherever he was going. She likely assumed he was between destinations but quickly realized that he was walking aimlessly as he had nowhere to go.
Benita put him in his car and decided she was going to do what she could to help him. “I swear to you that he broke my heart,” Benita said in a Facebook post.
A Man Who Called A Palm Tree Home
Benita Dearz / Facebook
During the car ride, Benita learned the man’s heartbreaking reality. He was 108 years old and he had 11 children from three different marriages. Yet somehow none of his kids had been around to help him, and Benita said she couldn’t help wondering where his family was.
Don was completely abandoned by his family and told Beita that he had nowhere to call home but lived under a palm tree in a public square. Benita felt sorry for the man and couldn’t imagine leaving her own father or grandfather like that: “Why do they [his family] abandon him if a father, a grandfather is the most beautiful thing that life can give you?”
A New Beginning For Don
Benita Dearz / Facebook
You are never too old for a new beginning. Life still holds surprises along the way, till the very end, and you never who you will meet, what opportunities you will be presented with, and when. That’s why every decision and choice you make along the way counts; it’s never “too late.”
When you see a homeless person on the side of the street, what do you tend to do? Most people simply walk by assuming that there’s nothing they can do or that they did it to themselves. Then there are people like Benita who saw a man who clearly needed help, and rather than wait for the next person to do something about it, she not only gave him a ride but invited him into her home. She didn’t even stop there; she also offered him a meal, dressed him in new clothes, and gave him a chance to wash up in her home.
The Power Of One Person
Benita Dearz / Facebook
Benita may have been just one person but she completely changed this man’s life and restored hope in humanity by sharing their story. Rather than send Don back out on the street, she gave him a second chance at life and at a family. She welcomed him into her family like he was one of their own.
Benita ended up adopting Don and giving him shelter withiin her own home. She didn’t do it out of pity or because she was forced to. She genuinely just felt a calling for it out of the kindness of her heart, ad seeing the way it changed Don and brought happiness back into his life was enough of a thank you. Benita wrote: “This is how Don Felipe looks, a little bath, a new change, and the best thing is a family dinner.”
Giving Hope To The World
Benita’s story has since gone viral and touched the heart of many people of all ages. Benita treats Don like he’s her own grandfather. In fact, she considers her gesture to be a way to honor her grandparents Angelina and Blas who have passed. On her social networks, the new family shares that they love Don like he’s their new grandfather.
Since sharing their story, the family has received a lot of support and strangers have even made offers to help Don. They continue to live together and have shared pictures of their family bonding time. Don looks happy and full of gratitude.
Benita Has Touched The Hearts Of Her Community
Benita Dearz / Facebook
This gesture has been appreciated and inspired many in Benita’s community and across the world as it continues to spread through social media. People are impressed by Benita’s selfless goodwill and her caring nature. One person said: “You deserve the whole world. What a big heart you have.”
Another added: “With this gesture, you show me that you have a noble heart!!! People like you are very few or almost none. Respect and best wishes to you today and always.”
Every Gesture Counts
Benita Dearz / Facebook
The next time that you find yourself wondering if you should help someone and coming up with reasons why it’s not your responsibility or how your help might not be enough, remember this story. Every little bit counts. We’re all strangers until we’re not because at the end of the day we’re all human beings with an equal right to being alive, happy, and free.
