Just one look at the headlines and we know that the potential for a natural disaster, economic catastrophe, personal tragedy or social unrest is great. You hear the axiom "be prepared", but what exactly does that mean? How do you start? What are your preparing for? Is preparedness really necessary?
Every year, in all parts of the globe, natural disaster strike unsuspecting people, leaving behind remnants of lives mangled by acts of God. Vast amounts of people become refugees, relying on governmental agencies for their daily survival. Floods wash away dreams and homes, gardens and animals. Fires devour lives and livelihoods. In some countries, civil unrest and war tear at the very fabric of family and village life and leave inhabitants clinging to what little they have. Here in America, we are fortunate to still live in a land of plenty. We have the opportunity to provide for our families and build a hedge of protection against natural disasters and other potential life changing threats.
My husband and I used to live in the Greater Seattle Metropolitan area, and learned firsthand how essential preparedness is, and how few people know it or live it. Many years ago, my husband was a volunteer firefighter with a little fire station on the east side of Lake Washington. The Seattle area was buffeted by a HUGE windstorm, leaving the city crippled. It was the middle of winter and temperatures were quite cold. My husband and I bundled up our then 3-year-old daughter, packed into our 4-wheel drive Chevy truck and headed to the fire station using the back roads. We made it about 4 miles and were confronted with a long line of stopped cars and people desperately trying to contact the local fire station on their cell phones. There was a tree across the road. When I say tree, I am being generous. It was more like a large stick, but I'll call it a tree for the sake of argument. Not one person had a chainsaw, hatchet, axe or even a pull strap or chain to pull the tree out of the road. There was abject helplessness. Without the help of the local civil servants, these folks were unable to reach their destination.
This was truly an "ah ha" moment for my husband and I. My husband, although raised in the city, had a can-do mountain man mentality, and I had been raised in the outback of Idaho. I grew up in the mountains were everyone had a chainsaw, shovel and six-pack of beer in their truck. Anytime there was a downed tree, you would see fresh sawdust, remnants of branches, a couple of beer cans and a cleared road. There was no waiting for someone to rescue you. You just took care of business. The windstorm in my Seattle back yard really opened my eyes. Not everyone here had the wherewithal to take care of themselves. Mostly it was from the lack of planning and a lifestyle of relying on governmental agencies for the most basic of daily necessities.
My husband, explaining that he was a fire fighter, sawed the tree into movable chunks and got on with the business of getting to the fire station. This was our lesson in Preparedness 101. We realized that we needed to be prepared. We did not want to have to rely on some nameless agency or charity to care for our needs. We did not want to be a drain on an already overloaded system. We wanted to be beacons of hope in the chaos of uncertain times. We chose to become a "Paratus Familia", a prepared family.
In our desire to become prepared, we found that preparedness is a way of life, rather than a list of supplies to buy or skills to acquire. Preparedness requires logical thought, troubleshooting skills, planning, a perserverant attitude and most of all a reliance on God.
Preparedness requires that you identify what you are preparing for. Despite common thought among some experts in preparedness, it is impossible to prepare for every eventuality. This is where the phrase "know your enemy" comes in to play. You need to carefully examine your situation and determine who your enemy is. For example, do you live in hurricane country? Do you live in an area that is frequented by firestorms? What about extreme cold or heat? Are you in a large urban area that has a high possibility of civil unrest? Is it possible that you could lose your job tomorrow? Could circumstances render you unable to afford food and water for your family? And then there are the big scary threats. Nuclear war, bio/chemical threats, martial law - basically the scariest parts of the bible.
Once you have identified the most likely potential threats to you and your family, then you can begin your preparedness planning and preparation. Things to consider are food storage, water storage/purification, defense, power systems, medical necessities, hygiene, charity and spiritual encouragement. You need to begin to acquire skills that will facilitate your long term survival - animal husbandry, gardening, cooking with stored foods, hunting and fishing, mechanic-ing, alternative energy, communications, canning and food preservation, and weapons skills, to name a few. Every new tool or skill you acquire, you must put into practice. It is not enough to have the tools, you must know how to use them. Buying a back-up generator is great, but if the generator is faulty and doesn't work under a load, it is useless. If you buy a Ham radio and get your license, but don't use it regularly, you can be guaranteed that you will push the wrong button, adjust the frequency incorrectly, forget what all of the controls do and you will be completely incommunicado. Use it. Use it. Use it!
Why should you be prepared? You should be prepared because there may be a hurricane, fire, flood or snowstorm in a neighborhood near you. You should be prepared because the economy may tank leaving you jobless and homeless. You should be prepared because our government may spiral out of control and render our population little better off than slaves.
Preparedness is not just for people that are holing up waiting for the end of the world. Preparedness is for people who want to be self-reliant, self-sufficient and not dependant on the government. Preparedness is for people who want to protect their families. Preparedness is for people who see the signs of the times. Preparedness is for you.
