Circling the Wagons Pre-Class Post

Circling the Wagons … in uncertain times and emergency situations!

By patsi @ a working pantry

Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm

Welcome to 'Circling the Wagons' pre-class post!

Hello everyone, for those who are new and don't know, my name is patsi and I write here on A Working Pantry blog.  I grew up in a home where preparedness was normal ... we lived prepared!  We grew a huge garden and preserved enough food for the year ahead.  We milked cows and grew our own pigs.  If we couldn’t raise or grow it, except for coffee, flour and sugar, we didn’t have it.  Until I was a teenager to get anything from the store, other than the basics, was a treat, I mean a really BIG treat!

When I married, I carried that same preparedness into our marriage with some variations … no milking cows and raising pigs but definitely with the mindset to prepare for the year ahead.

That mindset served us well for many years until we moved to where we are now … right smack in the middle of hurricane country.  I had never experienced a hurricane, but that was soon to change and as a result my whole preparedness mindset had to change as well.

For a few years after moving to our area, the hurricanes were mild as far as hurricanes go and while they disrupted things for a little while, it was nothing as to what was in our future!

In the fall of 2016, our area was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew which brought much devastation. After Hurricane Matthew, we made it a priority to get better prepared as we felt pretty sure it wouldn’t be our last one.

While we did learn a lot from Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael in 2018 took our education to a new level.  Hurricane Florence sat on our area for 4 days and left unbelievable devastation. We thought we were prepared, and we were, but these two hurricanes in the same season took our learning even further.

I could tell you about the crazed man who went on a rant at a gas station because he didn’t have any drinkable water and couldn’t find any anywhere to purchase. I could tell you about him running up to me and demanding I tell him where he could find water.

I could tell you about the mile long line of people in their cars waiting for emergency supplies being handed out.

I could tell you about the emotional toil being unprepared took on so many. 

I could tell you about the people who didn’t have food, hygiene products, water, diapers, baby formula, etc and couldn’t get them.

I could tell you about the empty store shelves of milk, meat and perishables because trucks couldn’t get into the area.

I could tell you about the people who were completely cut off from any type of access and about how food and supplies had to be air-dropped in to them.

I could tell you about the many people who simply had no idea what to do or where to even begin just meeting their basic needs.  

I could tell you about the days and days people went without power.

I could tell you about people standing in line at portable food wagons to get hot meals.

I could tell you about the people who thought this kind of thing would never happen to them.

Each and every one of these things could have been less traumatic, if only there had been some level of personal preparedness in place.

I will be the first to acknowledge that while there are some things you just cannot prepare for, I will also tell you that there are many others that you can.  Having said that, let me also say this, I do not believe that we are to live in fear; spreading fear is not the intention of this class.  This is also NOT a dooms day, zombie apocalypse kind of preparedness class.   It is a class designed to test your preparedness, identifying areas you need to improve in so that you won’t be caught off guard when uncertain times or the next disaster occurs.

Before we go any further though, let me address something that I encounter over and over. It’s the mentality that says, “I don’t need to prepare, I’m a Christian and God is going to take care of me.”  I want to be as gentle as I can in my response, but this mentality needs to be addressed.  I am a Christian and I prepare and here’s why.  First there are all kinds of examples in Scriptures of preparedness.  Some examples are Joseph in Genesis 41 and the Proverbs 31 woman, who was a first-class preparer.  I challenge you to read Proverbs 31 and mark the different ways this woman prepared.  If that’s not enough then look at what Proverbs 6:6-11 says about the ant and don’t forget about Noah in Genesis 5 - 9.  Under God’s tutelage, he prepared a long time before his preparations were needed. 

Lastly, I’d like to pose this thought … if no one prepared using the mentality that “God would take care of them” as their reasoning, then who would God use to be His hands and feet, to help others through difficult times?  God’s not going to just ‘poof’ what we want or need into existence when a need arises.   I do believe with all my heart that God will make a way for His people, but I also believe that He expects us to do our part.  In my humble opinion, that’s where preparedness comes in, that could be our part, preparing the best we can with what we have.

If you have health insurance, homeowners’ insurance, life insurance or any other type of insurance, you are already a preparer. You’re already looking ahead to the ‘what ifs!’  Everyone understands the need for this, being as prepared as you can for any situation is just common sense, why not extend that preparedness to non-financial areas as well?

Am I qualified to teach a class on preparedness … I’m sure going try!  I’m going to do my best to use what God has allowed in my life to bring honor and glory to Him by trying to help others.  During the above-mentioned hurricanes, our personal preparedness saw us through and while there were hardships, it was nothing compared to what we saw others enduring.  That's one of the goals of this class, to teach you what that level of preparedness looks like.

Let's look at our supply list for this class ...  (optional)

Suggested supplies:  a notebook or paper for taking notes and of course a pen or pencil to write those notes!  Why do I say a notebook or paper, because if you keep your notes on an electronic device and if you lose power, you lose your notes at a time when you just might need them most.

The goal is that by the time this class is over you will have a clear plan and direction for handling disasters and or uncertain things that life throws at you and that you will have it in writing!

Why have it in writing?  Because in times of crisis, disastrous events, or uncertain times, it can be hard to focus on what needs to be done.  If you have a written plan, you have your ‘to-do’ list at hand!

To sum it up …

Everyone needs some level of preparedness

Your preparedness should not consume your every waking moment

There is a middle ground … it’s called ‘living prepared!’

I’ll meet you back here on Monday, with the first class!

patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

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