Last night we lost power! After dinner and before baths, the storm caused trees and power lines to fall and fail. It’s okay. We’ve been here before. I’ve never lived anywhere with as many fall weather storms and power outages as we’ve had here in Washington.
Our house is all-electric, so we learn to survive without the conveniences of a water system. Without electricity? No Well! When the storm comes, you get ready for the inevitable. If you have a warning, and only if you are at home to prepare! What’s that Boy Scout motto? Be Prepared.
Of course, we live in the countryside, where towering trees have a shallow root system. The winds pour in from the Pacific, bringing moisture and often gale forces with them. Coupled with the fact that we have winter storm warnings galore, and it’s colder than normal. Without electricity? No Heat!
With warning, we load up with water. When it’s suddenly here, you live with what’s in your current storage systems.
Our storm supply shelf gave us all we needed, but this morning I would have fired up the generator so we could power the well, refrigerator, downstairs lights, and the internet. Good ol’ internet. Can’t live with it, and could not imagine how we ever lived without it.
12-hours later?
A smattering of clouds peppers a pale blue sky with the sun appearing.
This morning? Prop up a failing fence, rehang a gate the storm ripped off, and re-enter life.
Did we meet the needs of the storm? Our best intentions say, “Yes.” What we’ve learned with each storm, our best intentions are often not good enough. There’s always something more to do.
Planning for the Inevitable
No matter where you live, there are inevitable moments you plan for. Name any kind of storm, and you figure out what you need for the moment. If that storm lasts for hours or even days, you add up your needs and start looking for better solutions.
Ask the Ukrainians, what do you do when there’s a war?
Think about the future. Have you prepared for the worst of times? When? Who knows!
Matthew writes a short segment about those asking Jesus about signs from heaven to determine the future.
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him
asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said to them,
“When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’;
and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’
Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign,
and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
And He left them and departed.
(Mattthew16:1-4, NKJV)
Hmmm… It makes me want to seek out the “…sign of the prophet Jonah…” for a hint to an answer!
This points me to my thought today. What sign do we need for the storm that is sure to come?
Every Fall, Winter, and Spring, we have storms that result in “no power” times. We can prepare for them. Failing financial future? Maybe we can prepare in advance. But what about the sudden ending to life as we know it? Have we prepared correctly?
Best Intentions? Good Enough? Storms come often, and we are ready for them in the season they arrive. But what about that storm that portends the end? Are you ready for the big one? Click To TweetPreparing For The Big-One!
Stop! Drop! Roll! My kids learned this at school to put out the fire burning your clothes.
Me? When the alert system clanged, we crawled under our school desks! That will protect us when the big bomb goes off!
Yet, as a Christian, I know there’s life after death, and that’s what I focus on preparing to meet.
Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV)
So, I put God first. His Word tells me about life and how to face it. It helps me face my issues and teaches me how to deal with them. My emotions? They rule my response. Temper. Personality. Outlook. Accomplishing my mission. Facing challenges.
I’m no different than anyone else, but I have a preparation process that helps me better than others.
I shared the other day this concept Dave Ramsey uses to face decisions. Did you read it? Though it’s for business, similar trees can be created for your personal walk.
What if we made a decision tree that put God first in everything and helped us deal with crises or struggles with more of a spiritual thought than with human thought?
Now. That’s what I’m talking about. Best Intentions improve my outlook every time!