Are You Prepared?

Major disasters are a fact of life. Now and again Mother Nature simply has to “do her thing.” I’m not trying to make light of the terrible events that can occur when I say this, but since nearly all of us are vulnerable in one way or another to her whims, I feel the central question becomes … Are You Prepared?

Nearly every state in the Union is susceptible to some kind of disaster. Based on the whims of Mother Nature, one might experience any one (or more) of the following: forest fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, major snowstorm, hurricane, landslide, tsunami, or … ??

Admittedly, some areas of the U.S., because of their location, are relatively immune to the massive disasters that Mom Nature can inflict, but this does not make them totally safe. In these days of climate change, many are experiencing drought conditions and even insect infestation. Some readers can probably name other inflictions common to their state.

So, taking all this into account, the question remains: Are You Prepared?

Do you have reserve provisions on hand? What about a generator? Do you have some freeze-dried food stashed away? Medical supplies? Pet necessities? And most importantly, have you stored a LARGE supply of water bottles? The value of this last item becomes evident in the following incident that happened to a fellow blogger.

“Scottie” and his hubby recently suffered through the Florida hurricane. Wisely, they took heed of the warnings and left the area where they lived, so they stayed safe. However, when they returned, they found a section of their home had received some major damage. Fortunately, the rest of it was still livable and this allowed them to at least “make-do.”

However, the water and sewer systems in the area were damaged and they had no electricity. He wrote the following in one of his updates to his readers:

We dipped buckets in the pool to get water to pour into toilets when the desperately needed flushing. With no sewer system working we had to be careful not to fill the lines or it would backup into the homes. 

As soon as I read this, I wondered how many of us realize the many and several uses that water plays in our daily living.

In any case, if you are someone who has not made any emergency preparations, perhaps it’s time to give some thought about stashing away at least a few supplies … both in your home and in your car. The potential dangers of the area in which you live will help you decide what you need and where to store it.  Since my other-half and I live in an earthquake prone area and don’t know what the shaking will damage, we have supplies stashed away in several locations.

In any emergency, it is the “unknowns” that always need to be considered, which is why it’s so important to take a few moments and ask yourself … if a catastrophic event were to take place where I live …  Am I Prepared?

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Image by Lavir Hamil Lavir from Pixabay

God at Work?

In our local newspaper, there was an article entitled, “God Went Pruning.” It was in regards to the recent (very wet) snowstorm we experienced in which numerous trees throughout the region were affected (including some of our own).

While there has been considerable coverage about the damage residents have suffered from uprooted trees falling on their homes, into highways and roadways, large branches covering yards, along with several other calamities, this particular article was about trees that were part of a hazelnut orchard — and how the damage is expected to affect the owner’s livelihood.

Naturally, the article title grabbed my attention and got me to thinking. So if “God” decided to prune, why is “His” creation going to suffer the consequences? According to the article, the farmer owned 32 acres, which produced over 75,000 pounds of hazelnuts last year. He is expecting at least a 25% loss. So why did the God that so many call loving and worthy of praise decide to take away a substantial portion of this man’s livelihood?

Of course, losing a bit of sustenance is nothing compared to the loss of human life resulting from the recent (God-initiated?) tornadoes in Alabama. Or from earthquakes or tsunamis or wildfires or avalanches …

Yet time and again, believers overlook all this and “praise God” because they (or their family or their possessions) were sparred from whatever disaster came their way. As for their neighbor(s)? “God” must have wanted him/her/them to come “home.” So sad. Too bad.