During Hurricane Helene last September, a giant pecan tree fell across our driveway, pinning our cars underneath, and like so many, we lost power for days. My wife’s health issues necessitate use of an oxygenator, which may well have posed a life-and-death matter — save for the selfless acts of kindness by members of an SCBaptist chainsaw crew, allowing us to seek refuge.
Helene caused widespread destruction across South Carolina. Within hours, SCBaptist Disaster Relief chainsaw and feeding crews went to work, serving others and sharing the gospel. The efforts of numerous DR volunteers to remove downed trees from driveways and rooftops became mercy drops, which when combined produced showers of blessing — for my family and so many others across our state.
Following the storm, SCBaptist Serve Team Leader Jon Jamison urged, “Now is a great time to introduce or reintroduce yourself to your neighbors. You could come through in a major way for them. As you do, let them know why you’re being so generous. You love them and God loves them. … SCBaptists, let’s bring help, hope, and healing.”
Hurricane Helene downed thousands of trees, smashing and trapping scores of vehicles. Todd Deaton’s daughter was among those whose vehicle needed rescuing after the winds ceased.
Most residents have recovered from Helene now. But not all mercy drops of God’s love have to be associated with crises. Mercy drops also can be seen in everyday, compassionate actions — signposts pointing others toward God’s love.
Growing up in a preacher’s home in a farming community, gardens were often ways people shared God’s blessings. I remember being invited over to the homes of church members to shuck corn, snap pole beans, or cut watermelons or cantaloupes. Sometimes a paper bag of squash, tomatoes, or potatoes would mysteriously show up on our doorstep. The bags were so much more than the generosity of church members; they were mercy drops of God’s love shown to us.
SCBaptist Disaster Relief workers cut away trees to liberate a vehicle in the wake of Helene.
One of my friends once brought our family several grocery bags of zucchini. At least I considered him as my friend until my mom started experimenting with recipes like zucchini bread and zucchini pudding. In a warped, passive aggressive prank, I drew faces on some of the zucchinis and hid them in odd places all over the house — kitchen cabinets, towel shelves, clothes hampers, recliners. I think Mom took the hint: “Enough, with the zucchini!”
Where was I going with this article before I became sidetracked by zucchini? Oh yeah, any time is a great time to think of another’s needs. Small actions can become great tools of outreach to other families, neighbors, friends, church members, and those in need. There are thousands upon thousands of ways that mercy drops of God’s love can produce showers of blessings. Those mercy drops say to others, “We care enough to share some of God’s blessings with you.”
Remember the garden love story of Boaz and Ruth, a poor widow and foreigner? Boaz was a wealthy landowner and relative of Naomi’s late husband. Ruth was Naomi’s daughter-in-law, who also had recently lost her husband and chose to return to Israel with Naomi.
During a period of famine, Ruth went each day to pick up the grains that workers left behind in a field. Aware of her situation, Boaz told the workers to leave plenty behind. Mercy drops! He later invited Ruth to eat with the workers, and he encouraged her to continue gleaning in his fields where she’d be safe. Mercy drops!
Boaz and Ruth would later marry, and they had a son named Obed. She is one of four women whom Matthew names in the genealogy of Jesus: “Boaz, the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” Showers of blessing — for generations to come!
Though it was probably hard for Ruth and Naomi to see in the midst of their tragedy, God was unfolding His amazing plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, our “Kinsman Redeemer.” How could Ruth and Boaz have ever thought their humble story of loss, hunger, and restoration would one day be intertwined with the greatest love story ever told?
Through Boaz’s kindness and compassionate actions toward a foreign, Moabite woman, God’s provision for the lost, hungry, and hurting is evident. Even our small acts of kindness, like leaving grain behind, can help others to see God’s faithfulness during their good and bad times.
Boaz’s garden is a poignant illustration of Jesus’s words: “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’ And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’”
As one favorite hymn intones, “Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need; Mercy drops round us are falling, But for the showers (of God’s love) we plead.”