You know, it's kind of surreal watching footage of people in the aftermath of "Superstorm Sandy" trying to get by, trying to stay warm, trying to get a charge on their cell phones so that they can get word out to their relatives.
Here in central Pennsylvania we felt the effects of the high winds and rain, however, we did not lose power. And yet, many of my friends in Ohio are still without power. They are suffering already...and a winter storm is forecasted for the northeast next week.
Tonight, I was struck as I watched the national news. I saw a woman yelling at Michael Bloomberg in the street, telling him that she needs heat. She needs food and water...begging him to send help her way.
And I wondered how long it will be until each of us are in her same position.
Desperate. Crying out for help. Wishing we would have been more prepared.
In an NPR story this morning, I heard an airline official reminding us that natural disasters happen around the world basically every day, and that as an industry, they are used to dealing with things like hurricanes and volcanic eruptions on a daily basis.
I thought about how many decades (or centuries) the Lord, through his prophets, has been asking us to get ready, to store food and water, to have 72-hour kits on hand, and to keep them updated.
And I thought about my own personal "emergency preparedness" to-do list. I thought about how many times I've said, "We need to get a generator," and didn't. I thought about promptings I've had to get certain insurance plans that went ignored.
One guy I heard on the radio this morning lamented that the grocery stores had food but didn't seem to want to sell it to anyone who didn't have cash in hand. I made a mental note that cash in a crisis can be very important. And then I started a running mental list of things that I need to take care of...before our turn to face tragedy comes around.
These stories serve as a very good testimonial to what prophets have been telling us for years.
They don't ask us to prepare for emergencies to make us waste time and money or to create panic or to make us seem weird to our friends and neighbors. Latter-day saints are asked to prepare for hard times because hard times are coming (and are here), and because there is peace in being able to take care of our families and others when disaster strikes.
You can read more about what the LDS church teaches about becoming self-reliant at the Provident Living website.
Oh how I agree. This is a great passion of mine and one I am sure people get sick of me telling them about.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is the best way to learn though, when we are right in the thick of things.
Sending prayers your way that all will be well.
You do kind of rock at preparedness! :) I can't believe that we did not lose power during all of this. That would definitely have spelled tragedy for us as we need our sump pump...to pump! :) Tender mercies.
DeleteAnother close shave was that my parents in Cleveland JUST took down a very large tree from their front yard. Had it been there, I'm sure it would have blown over in the storm (because it was also rotten inside)...and it would have landed on their home!
It's so important to follow those promptings that we get.
We can't all be perfect in preparedness, but we can be perfect in following personal promptings from the Holy Ghost...that is the best protection!
Aww, thanks Jocelyn. :)
DeleteI am so glad you are OK. Personal promptings (no matter how small they seem) are so important.
Looking forward to some baby posts soon. :) Good luck. My prayers are with you friend.
This is such a great post. I am in the process of writing something very similar to this. I think this is so important. My husband and I started preparing when we first got married and we keep adding to it so we have a decent supply in case something happens.
ReplyDeleteThat's great. I feel like there is always something more I can be doing! And the best way to know if you're covered is by following what the spirit tells each of us personally to do. My grandma was a wiz at this stuff. Wish I could download all that she knew. She was a master of organization as well!
DeleteI was thinking some of your same thoughts. i have friends in PA, NJ< and Newyork that are still with out power. My friends in Newyork have a grenerator but it's only enought energy to run the refridgerator, freezer and sump pump. so don't have heat. They don"t want to leave there home as they have to watch their sump pumps. and really have no where to go. They have to go line up at the gas station to get a almost rationed amount of Gas for the generator. But sit in there car with the heat running to get warm. Then I have another friend who literally got out with the clothes on his Back , and has lost everything! his business destroyed and the contents washed away and the same with his home contents .
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to them. We don't have a generator or some sort of gas run heater ( we don't have a fireplace) also and I am so buying them when the crazyness is over as I don't know that I would do well health wise with out heat. So we were prepared in some ways . but not in others.
I feel like my priorities need to shift if I'm ever going to feel adequately prepared...then again I feel like the Lord can lead me in my preparations so that I know how best to spend my resources...if I will only listen!
DeleteMarie, I've heard similar stories from family members in New Jersey. Those in line at gas stations are needing fuel for their generators.
ReplyDeleteI've thought today of things like the hand warmers that are activated by bending or shaking the package...it might ease some discomfort from cold toes. And, that chest type freezers will keep food frozen longer than an upright. That any extra space in any freezer should be filled with 2 liter bottles of water, or zip lock bags of water, laid flat to freeze, then packed in with the food. I hope we can all share experiences or ideas to help us all of us get better prepared...
Good points Maggie and Marie. I have also thought about good old fashioned blankets...and about securing one warm area if the home probably by hanging sheets or something in order to keep the heat from our fireplace in a small area and keeping the kids huddled there at least to sleep if it got that bad.
DeleteGood points Maggie and Marie. I have also thought about good old fashioned blankets...and about securing one warm area if the home probably by hanging sheets or something in order to keep the heat from our fireplace in a small area and keeping the kids huddled there at least to sleep if it got that bad.
DeleteI like that the picture with this post was Steve showing Guy how to do something. That's another important part of preparation - preparing our children. We need to teach our kids how to do various things and handle themselves in emergencies. If (when) there's an emergency or disaster, the last thing we need to deal with is our children freaking out and possibly making bad situations worse or at least vastly more complicated than they already are.
ReplyDeleteI've been lucky where I live as we have really yet to have a disaster like this in the time I have been alive. We get moderate earth quakes, some fluke flooding but its very moderate here. However we are expected to be getting a tsunami within the next 50 years. It was interesting that about the time of the Japan tsunami and when all the scientists were telling us that the west coast will be hit with one much larger than that, our stake center went under a remodel to make it earthquake sound. While the tsunami won't hit us, we will still feel the level 8 point earthquake. That kind of got me thinking...if the church is preparing for a major earthquake (because there really is no reason to make it earthquake proof with the wimpy ones we get here) I should be too!
ReplyDeletea good reminder. There a good battery operated portable radio that will also charge your cell phones with cranking the radio-sold by L.L. Bean company...
ReplyDeleteWe've been slowly adding over the years and have really begun this year to bulk up the 90 day supply of food and the 72 hour kits. A generator is next on the list (good thing Christmas is right around the corner). Sandy has been a great learning experience for our kids, we've been able to talk about the kits we just put together multiple times. Of course, we live smack dab in the middle of the US, so tornadoes are more our thing :). Looking at my shelves lined up in the basement and seeing my husbands Scout Master totes all lined up give me a great sense of peace.
ReplyDeleteLove this!
ReplyDeleteI need to re-evaluate where we are in our emergency preparedness....we just bought a new home, and it would be helpful to get things in order here in our new place. We have a gas stove, so that could be used to cook, but we would be without heat. Our heating supply has a built in plug with a switch that can be switched over to an extension cord for running off of a generator.
I did discover through my realtor that there is such a thing as a battery operated sump pump. He recommended that we get one for an emergency back up. Even if there is still power, and there is a lot of water with the sump pump running constantly for a couple days at a time, the motor can burn out, and it is wise to have one on hand. Now to go and do myself....
Not surprisingly, Dave and I have been talking about this very subject.
ReplyDeleteIt's something to learn from, this storm.
=)