Several years ago, I was in my first job out of college and in Houston. I was an urban dweller in my Houston apartment. I worked and lived in downtown Houston. I dined at downtown restaurants and lived the big city life.
It broke my heart to see downtown Houston in the photos after Hurricane Harvey slammed the city. I am not living in Houston anymore, but watched on TV as my beloved downtown streets completely flooded. The roadways I had navigated were swallowed by dirty water.
My friends who lived in Houston warily watched the storm’s waters. Some were forced to evacuate. Some were lucky enough to have just minor damage. In total, the 51 inches of rain caused about $75 billion in damages to the Texas coast.
In the days and weeks after the flooding, stories have emerged of good Samaritans and selfless deeds. These stories have been a reflection of God’s goodness, reminding us of his grace and love for us.
Here are 10 ways I’ve seen God’s goodness in the storm.
Weary Houston residents who were forced from their homes had a basic need for safe, dry shelter. Many schools and churches turned their halls into homes for those who evacuated. AirBnb offered free stays at host homes in San Antonio, Austin and other parts of the state. A furniture store just outside of Houston welcomed in about 300 people to its showroom, letting evacuees use the showroom’s sofas and mattresses to sleep on. As beds were opened to evacuees, we saw how God gives rest.
In Nehemiah, we are reminded that God gave his people “water for their thirst” as they wandered in the wilderness. For Houston residents, clean drinking water became a basic need, and so St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch turned its packaging facilities from canning beer to canning water for flood-stricken areas. Some 155,000 cans of water were delivered. Nestlé Waters North America also sent water to the Texas coast— about 1.3 million bottles of water. These donations not only fulfilled a basic need, but also showed how God provides for his people.
Many people lost everything in Hurricane Harvey, their homes destroyed by deep water, their belongings lost to the flood. Millions of monetary donations were earmarked to help those people restart their lives, but some of the most selfless donations weren’t more than $100. Just recently, a Texas waitress who served a Houston family at a restaurant gave $100 to the family, saying it wasn’t much, but to “buy something special.” Her generosity reminds me of the story of Job, who was also stricken with loss, but at the end of the story is restored and comforted by his friends, who each “gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.”
Deuteronomy tells us that people will praise God when they “have eaten and are satisfied.” As water and rest was given to those affected by Hurricane Harvey, we saw how people thanked God. In one example, a Pizza Hut manager delivered—by kayak— more than 120 pizzas to people trapped in their homes. A Mexican bakery in Houston, itself pummeled by the storm and trapping four bakers inside, decided to bake loaves of bread until they were rescued, using 4,400 pounds of flour. The bread was then taken to emergency centers.
When Annie Smith started to go into labor during the storm and while trapped in her apartment, her husband prepared to deliver the baby himself. Instead, 15 people showed up to help her escape the flooding and get to the hospital. The group of neighbors and firefighters formed a human chain to help Smith crawl through the water and into a rescue truck. Her baby girl was safely delivered. In this story, we see a mirror of how God can be a “sun and a shield,” as Psalm 84 says. Those volunteers were a line of protection for Smith and helped her reach safety out of the storm.
One of the most talked about photos shared in the days after the storm was of a Houston SWAT team member carrying a woman and her 1-year-old son through the floodwater. It was one of thousands of rescues that took place in and around Houston, and it reminded us how God is a rescuer. He shows us and saves us time and time again, and in the selfless rescue stories we’ve heard in Hurricane Harvey, we see God’s goodness.
God made the ultimate sacrifice for us and gave up his son Jesus to die for us, and as we watched rescues from the storm, we saw a mirror of that sacrifice. There were emergency workers who worked around the clock and Texas residents who donated their boats and trucks to rescue efforts. But also making ultimate sacrifices were rescuers who gave their lives to save others. Their stories of rescue and sacrifice will leave a legacy.
Again and again we saw examples of what the book of Philippians calls God’s “genuine love.” Maybe these weren’t the major rescues or the huge donations, but these acts of love are reminders of God’s own love for us. An animal rescuer refused rescue until all 20 of her dogs could also be saved, and a man with a boat eventually saved her and all 20 of her furry friends. A reporter covering the storm saw a truck driver trapped and sinking in his truck. The reporter stopped her broadcast and waved down a rescue boat that saved the driver.
Many companies offered Texas strong-themed merchandise after the storm with all or most of the proceeds benefitting those impacted by the storm. There were T-shirts and necklaces and caps, and we responded. I, myself, bought a few T-shirts where profits were earmarked for Hurricane Harvey relief. They may have felt like small purchases that couldn’t make an impact, but these were ways that those of us without a boat or furniture store could show our support, and in turn, we could show how we love God and love others.
It’s easy to see the damage as overwhelming, but it also isn’t hard to see God’s faithfulness in the storm. Psalm 37:3 says “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.” In the storm stories, we see those good works and we see how they are a reflection of God’s goodness. They are reminders that God doesn’t give up on us and God provides for us and God loves us when the waters rise and the rivers flood.
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Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Texas with her husband. Previously, she worked for the Galveston County Daily News, the Houston Chronicle, the Abilene Reporter-News and the Lufkin Daily News. Currently, she is a team member for HeartSupport, a nonprofit community for young adults. Her website is at http://tx.ag/casanova and you can find her on Twitter @acasanova10.