By VERNA BROCK
We finally got some rain in Wakulla Station on Sunday afternoon, and it sure was welcomed. It was only the second real rain in four months. Prognostications are for more rain this week, all of which will benefit the environment. I am pretty stoked at the prospect of less dragging of hoses to water every plant, shrub and tree in the yard. On the bright side, the carpenters and painters making our home beautiful had a good stretch of dry weather to work with. I am overjoyed with the results. Now, bring on the summer showers please!
Many thanks to everyone who came out in support of the Wakulla United Methodist Church’s fundraiser for its food pantry this past weekend. Your participation helped raise over $1,700, which will go a long way toward keeping the doors open. A special thanks to the Kast Net restaurant for generously donating all proceeds (during the event) to the pantry.
It is a true blessing to live in a community where people want to help their fellow citizens. In times of loss or disaster, our neighbors always seem to turn out to assist one another. It’s good to trust in people’s essential decency, but seeing kindness in action is always reassuring. I realize some people are, shall we say, “sketchy.” But overall, the folks we encounter in our daily lives respond with generosity when confronted with tragedy.
It is easy to feel jaded if we focus too heavily on social media and the rumor mill. It can be tempting to write society off as a lost cause. But inevitably, in times of trouble, complete strangers will jump into the breach. How many times have you witnessed someone helping change a tire, rescue a frightened animal cowering alongside a busy road, remove fallen trees left by violent weather, or start GoFundMe efforts to help families beset by fire and flood? It really does restore our faith in mankind.
You name it, our neighbors are quick to open their hearts and help each other. I don’t think Wakulla County is unique in this, but we certainly exemplify it. Perhaps, it’s because people can empathize with those who suffer, because they have suffered themselves. Or maybe, we simply imagine how devastating it would be to experience a calamity of our own. Whatever it is that inspires kindness, I am grateful for it. Tenderheartedness helps make us human, it bonds us one to another. I would hate to see us surrender that part of our souls in the name of carefulness, caution or cynicism.
Ultimately, our ability to respond to the pain and suffering of those around us is a response to God’s love for us and His creation. We are called to love one another as He first loved us, to cherish creation, and to recognize the worthiness of every individual to know God’s grace. By extending kindness and generosity to our neighbors, we acknowledge the grace we have received and reflect it back to one another.
After all, love is never divided by widening the circle, it is multiplied and expanded!