BE PREPARED

You know that scout motto that has been around forever…BE PREPARED?Let’s take a few moments and reflect on those words.

A quick google search on the Scout Motto of BE PREPARED yielded some of these thoughts from Wikipedia:

BE PREPARED  means you are always in a state of readiness.

–Be prepared in Mind

–Be prepared in Body

You have to be prepared at any moment to face difficulties and even dangers by knowing what to do and how to do it.

Isn’t that great advice especially in thinking about the storms of life we might go through?

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A few weeks ago, our area in NYS was hit hard with a major snowstorm, part of Winter Storm Stella 2017. Stella goes down in our history books as recording the most snowfall, about 31 inches in a 24 hour period, that our area has experienced.  Our county also holds the record for getting the most snow in all of NYS with Stella.

31 inches of snow!

 

We were slated to receive 12-18 inches of snow while the NYC area was suppose to get the most. The National Guard that was originally deployed to NYC in anticipation of their snowfall was then sent our way to assist in getting essential personnel to hospitals and to help with snow removal.

The towns around us are no stranger to some natural disasters in recent years.  Back in 2006 we had a flood and the near by Susquehanna River discharged more than the 100 year flood amount of water.  Some areas even exceeded the 500 year flood amounts!

September 2011 even worse devastation hit our area with another major flood.  Many, many people lost all their possessions, along with their houses from Tropical Storm Lee. In this flood, the Susquehanna River crested one to four feet higher than the flood in 2006! We were without power for five days! Not too fun when you have a well!

Thankfully, we have a creek a ways behind our property so we would fill garbage cans and bottles with water from the creek and lug them back to the house to be able to flush toilets.

Bringing water back to the house to flush some toilets.

 

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All of these natural disasters made me think about the phrase BE PREPARED.

Sometimes we can be prepared for the storms of life, both literal and figurative, and sometimes we just can not be prepared since the storm is totally unexpected.

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On Monday, the day before the expected snow, I noticed how people tried to BE PREPARED for the snowstorm. The grocery store parking lots were filled and, I, like many other people, filled  up my car with gas and made sure the gas cans were filled in case we needed to use the generator that we bought after the flood of 2011.  😃

You just can never be sure if the power will go out, and it is definitely best to be prepared in case you have no power or if it is out for an extended period of time.

As Stella was approaching on a Monday night, schools started cancelling classes for Tuesday because of the forecast.  As of Tuesday morning at 1 am (yes, I just might have still been up!), there was not a flake of snow.  By 6:30 am, there was a travel ban in effect, and by 9 am we had a good 18 inches of snow!

18 inches of snow!

 

The snow continued throughout the day on Tuesday and Wednesday morning the travel ban was still in effect until noon.  Thirty one inches of snow is a lot but the positive is that the snow was not the heavy, icy type so no one  in the area lost power!!  That was definitely a blessing and made the snow easier to deal with.  Imagine if you had an electric snowblower with 31 inches of snow and no power!  🙁

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The two floods our area experienced did not yield time to really prepare. In fact, the 2011 flood was not expected to even hit us!

 

The car wash engulfed in water from the Susquehanna River which is far on the other side across three highways!

What a difference being hit with an unexpected “storm” can make.

Often, we just can not be prepared. We have to rely on the state of readiness of how our mind and body have been prepared.

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The flood of 2011 was actually the first day of school for two of the three of my children. The eldest was a few weeks into his first college experience away from home so he was actually spared the experience!  I was out to lunch with a friend, our annual first day of school tradition, when they started  closing some  schools.  I picked my youngest son up as his school was closing early, but my other child’s was not. Thankfully, they were able to get home despite some flooded road conditions by the end of the school day.

We had power all of Weds. and lost it about 4 am Thursday morning.

We really had no idea we would lose power but the substation ended up being underwater causing us to lose power for five days!

Happening in the middle of the night, one is certainly unprepared!

And, in case you didn’t know  I’m not a great Suzy Homemaker (just ask my eldest son!), so yes, there were dirty dishes on the counter for a good five days.

Needless to say, it was quite the experience!

Roasting marshmallows with a candle!

 

No showers, no clean dishes, no hot food to eat, no cold drinks, no real running toilet water, no electronic devices to help pass the time just to name a few things.

Just quiet, darkness, cold canned food using a hand can opener, not much to do!  Roasting marshmallows on toothpicks with a candle, making smores and playing board games trying to pass the day light hours away are memories we now have.

 

Smores…some food to eat when you have no power!

 

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Think about where we see the theme of BE PREPARED in the Bible.

How about in the life of John the Baptist?

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is He who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:  “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.'”   –Matthew 3:1-3  (NIV)

What a great mission that John the Baptist was entrusted to!

John was preparing the way for Jesus by calling people to a proper heart condition so they would repent of their old, sinful ways and be ready to follow Jesus.

Jesus’ public ministry was about to begin.

Wasn’t Jesus’ short life in ministry preparing as many people as possible to spend eternity with Him and God the Father in heaven?

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Photo courtesy of Leonard J Matthews under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)

 

How does the theme of BE PREPARED apply to our personal, spiritual lives?

First, our hearts must be prepared to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Once we accept Him into our hearts, we can be better equipped to handle the storms of this life, especially when the devastating, unexpected storms come crashing at us.

Our faith will take over even though it may feel like our faith is weak and being tested beyond measure.

 

Though it is often impossible to be prepared for the storms of life, may I encourage you to be better equipped to handle the storms of life by:

….keeping in the Word so you know the truth of the Word which you can claim.

….talking to God who is always there to listen and comfort you.

….remembering that God, your Father, is there to hold you lovingly in His arms.

….reaching out to people in your time of need who will encourage you, pray with and for you.

….seeking people who will speak the truth to you when you need to be reminded.

….never giving up!  God is with you through everything!

I recently heard this song by Ryan Stevenson at a concert that I pray will minister to you especially if you are in the “Eye of a Storm.”

Keep alert. Be firm in your faith. Stay brave and strong.  –1 Corinthians 16:13 (CEV)