90 Days

If you were given insight into the future that in 90 days there would be a need to stockpile food, water, finances, etc, would you? What if God talked to you the way He talked with Noah thousands of years ago? Noah was ridiculed and mocked by others who saw no rain in sight. Would you be one who carefully planned and prepared? Or, would you be in denial until the "doom" actually occurred and begging for mercy?

Consider the story of Joseph from Old Testament: You may recall the stories of how his brothers sold him into slavery but do you remember his vivid dreams? He foresaw the need to stock up during an abundant season because a season of famine appeared in his dreams. He dutifully had the farmers pile a portion of the grain harvest in a storehouse. Eventually, the famine occurred and many came from distant lands to receive a portion. If Joseph hadn't heeded the prophesy, thousands would have starved. We shouldn't hope that one out of thousands or millions will store up enough for everyone else in tough times. We should learn to save up a little for our own families. I'm not saying you should hoard for your own family. There is a difference.

Many people chalk "Doomsday Preppers" up to nothing more than scared fanatics. Perhaps there is a middle ground between stocking a bunker underground and doing nothing until it's too late. I've followed various blogs, posts and pins about how to prepare for natural disasters or other catastrophes. While I've procrastinated to put almost any of it in motion, I have considered much of it as smart planning. We know natural disasters will occur. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Let's not even consider political upheaval or anarchy. Car accidents and snow storms are bound to happen. Why do we wait?

I remember living in Europe years ago, we were encouraged to keep blankets, nonperishable food and water in our vehicles because you never knew when your adventures on the autobahn would come to a screeching halt in a "stau". I was fortunate it didn't happen to us but I knew many who did sit in them for hours. Some prepared and were okay but others took their chances and regretted their poor decision. Since coming back to the States, we haven't kept our cars stocked. We quickly forgot the possibility of a traffic lockup on a highway.

Just a week ago, my husband was in a bad accident that rendered his vehicle useless. (He was physically fine.) The insurance found him at fault so we won't receive money to replace his vehicle.  The average American would run to the bank and get a loan out for $15,000-$30,000. Thankfully, we had a small, but sizeable-enough-to-buy-a-"beater", savings fund because of the uncertainty of my paycheck due to the government shutdown. Now, we are able to search for a replacement vehicle to pay for... in cash!

We no longer believe in holding debt or using it as a back-up plan. Had it not been for that savings, we would be just a tad bit more stressed. We realized years ago that by having debt, we were not holding our faith in God during situations and it was robbing us of money we could be saving from the interest charges. This was certainly a test in what we would do if push came to shove and I have to say we passed this test. It is doable.

So back to the original thought, 90 days. While I'm thankful that many of my furloughed friends have been able to return to work today, Congress has only patched the hole in the boat that is sinking. It's just more "continuing resolution. Consider it a reprieve. Consider it the tremor before an earthquake or a dry run in an emergency evacuation plan. Manyof my fellow coworkers really didn't think the shutdown would occur. They thought that Congress would all agree in the eleventh hour. That wasn't the case.

You may call it gut instinct but I consider it God's way of nudging me. I had told my husband last month that I really thought this shutdown had to occur. We had begun preparing what we could in that short time to brace ourselves. We had just recovered from the furloughs of this summer. What we didn't anticipate was the car accident. I'm thankful we had taken the time to go into "emergency mode".

I encourage everyone to begin saving money. Don't spend your entire paycheck now. Save some for later. Invest in retirement. Do not rely on the government to supply your needs. Rely on God to direct your path and show you where to place your money. Faith without action is just hope.