A Call To Be Prepared

Well, I've held my peace for about as long as I can stand it. Watching the devastation of the earthquake in Japan, followed by a horrific tsunami, and now a nuclear disaster, it's pretty much a no brainer that it would be wise to be prepared.


Those that were closest to the epicenter, tsunami, and reactors have suffered greatly and now the possibility of hypothermia, dehydration, and starvation are very real perils looming in the horizon. My heartfelt prayers goes out to them and I hope that a hand of mercy reaches them in time! 


Preparedness, Definition: refers to the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes. (wikipedia)


Grant it, you can prepare all you want, but sometimes you can still loose lose all that you've stored. But imagine with me for a minute... what if everyone in Japan had been prepared ahead of time with food and water? How would this scenario been different? Would it have been?


Is it possible that those who did loose everything could be helped by those somewhat locally that still had what they put aside. Yes, the calvary cavalry would still need to come in and lend a hand, but would they have enough to keep them alive until that time if most had some kind of food and water stored? Let's just say that the odds would certainly have been better!

Photo: USA Emergency Supply

The reality is... in our modern, disposable, consumer minded, global society, storing food and supplies is not the norm. Yes, a few cultures may still do this, but I can't think of any off hand (please let me know if you can think of some!). 


Understand that I am not writing this to be judgmental of the Japanese people! I have been duly impressed with how they've conducted themselves in their hour of trial. (Even more impressive when you know that about only one percent are Christian believers!) Sadly, I'm not sure Americans would have been as self controlled if we had been in their shoes. No looting or rioting; no pushing or shoving in lines... 
Update: I've had a reader inquire as to my statement that non-Christians should act so self controlled. Let me clarify... It is certainly possible for non-believers to act in a self-controlled manner. You're seeing proof of it when you watch the Japanese people. Without the Holy Spirit, this is very impressive, because the flesh is powerful indeed. It is to the shame of many Christians that we often do not act in a self controlled manner; but then again, one can be Christian in name only.


Let me get to my point here. I need to be more prepared than I am. There is more I could and should do. How about you? Anyone need a little push to get prepared? Maybe you've talked about it but have done very little? Perhaps you're well on your way and could encourage others to do some prepping?


I'm going to offer a simple call to do one thing each week to get prepared. Every Saturday, I'm going to put up a post to remind everyone of the challenge, but YOU get to pick what you do. To help hold us accountable, you can leave a comment telling what you've done that week or you can write a post and link up. 

Photo: Big Berkey 

Do not feel like you must do something major each week. Even something small, such as buying a first aid kit, adding some water bottles to the pantry, or buying and planting an extra packet of seeds to grow extra food - it all counts and adds up over time! All I ask is that you clearly state what you did that week. For example, "This week, for the Preparedness Challenge, I bought an extra bag of rice from the co-op and stored it in mylar bags in a bucket". Then you can expound on it more if you'd like. 


Simple enough? I'm already shaking in my boots because I know this is really going to push me to be on the ball! I don't go to town but once or twice a week, and often I'm rushed to get things done, but I need this as much as anybody. Good thoughts of storing food doesn't make it happen. Action does. 


So, are you in? We start tomorrow!