His Mysterious Ways

By: Tianne Overmyer

I understand benevolence in a big way because I experienced it firsthand. I will never forget how my church family stepped up at a very painful time in life.   

Many years ago, my former spouse had not been feeling well for many weeks and, after much doctoring and testing, was found to have Testicular Cancer. We were a young family with a 4-year-old boy, living in a very small town in Indiana. To say that the church came to our aid is an understatement, as we were thrown into the world of cancer at age 25. My spouse could not work, so our only income was my income. He underwent six months of chemo, had a big surgery, and finally was pronounced cancer-free. The church jumped in to help, and we never went without during those nine months.

One night, I remember calling someone and asking for just $100 to get some groceries (groceries were cheaper back then!). Afterward, I ran to get my mail, and in the mailbox was an anonymous check for $1,000. That happened more than once.  

Since this was around Christmas time, we came home from a night out, and someone had come in and put presents all around our Christmas tree. We had no idea where they came from until we opened them a week later…. a couple of gifts for each of us.   

Another time, one of our ministers asked me what our needs were at the moment. Even though we were mostly covered by insurance, some things weren’t. I told him we had several medical bills that we could not pay. About two weeks later, we had a check in hand for those bills and were able to pay them off.   

Friends came in to clean our home, brought meals, helped with car payments, and babysat for our son, among other things too many to mention. It was incredible to watch these things being done for our family, and yet so humbling to be on the receiving end.  

How fortunate and blessed we were to have so many who stood by us every step of the way. I am deeply grateful to this day!  

About The Benevolence Committee

The Benevolence Committee exists to amplify and uphold our “Benevolence” core value and serve as a bridge between employee-owners and the charities we regularly support. In January, they hosted a writing contest and asked contestants to respond to the question, “What does benevolence mean to you?” or “How have you seen or experienced benevolence in your life?” This story is one of five that will be shared over the week of February 12-16. We hope you are touched and encouraged as you read about the gift of benevolence. Each winner was asked to choose a charity for the Benevolence Committee to donate $500 to. Tianne chose Samaritan’s Purse:

“Samaritan’s Purse is a charity founded by Franklin Graham. They are able to respond immediately, mobilizing staff and relief workers to provide assistance and lifesaving relief to people in need. I love this organization and give to it myself.”

To all of the writers (whether your story is shared or not), we want to send out a sincere thank you for your vulnerability and willingness to share your story. The Benevolence Committee had a very hard time narrowing down the entries to the five that will be shared this week. Each story was special, and a testament to the power of benevolence in our lives.