Sarah Anne Carter is a contributing writer for The Survival Mom. This is the first in a series of articles on disaster preparedness for AllMomDoes. Read the rest of the posts in the series here: Food Storage 101, What Supplies Do I Need?, When You Have to Leave, Worst Case Scenarios.
Can I tell you a secret? I’m a prepper – and you probably are, too.
Moms are the original preppers. Think about the diaper bag and how many things we put in there “just in case” so we are prepared.
Being a prepper doesn’t mean that you have to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse, it just means being prepared for the scenarios you could face on a daily basis, which can range from a blow-out diaper to a traffic jam that lasts for hours.
September is National Preparedness Month. You are probably hearing infomercials on the radio, seeing displays at the stores and finding sales on first aid kits. Being prepared is a good thing for any family to think about.
Why I started prepping
I think I was always meant to be a prepper. I was the person in class you could count on for an extra pencil, pen or paper. I kept bandaids in my purse. When I became a mother, my diaper bag was packed for every scenario and I often shared diapers, wipes and extra outfits with other mothers. When we lived in Alaska, there was only one road from our town to the main city. A car accident, blizzard or earthquake could strand us there for hours or days, so I packed an emergency backpack for our family with extra clothes, food, water and blankets. The threat of a volcanic eruption forced us to evaluate what food and supplies we had on hand, along with face masks, vehicle air filters, duct tape and plastic sheeting. The final event that led us to start a food storage and stock up on supplies was the tornado hitting Joplin, Mo. We lived a few hours from there at the time and all of our local news focused on what happened there. We had several children at that point and I knew I didn’t want any of them to be hungry and have to tell them that we had no food.
What scenarios you could face?
The first step in becoming a prepper is figuring out what scenarios you could face with your family where you live. I know from living in Tacoma that having hungry children during a Seattle traffic jam was at the top of my list then. Thinking about what you could face will then let you make lists of how you would respond to that situation and what you would need to have on hand. Here are some scenarios that could happen in the Seattle area: getting stuck in your car for hours during traffic, tsunami, earthquake, windstorm damaging your home, personal or national economic collapse, both parents getting the flu, pandemic.
How does God fit into this?
It is true that the Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow, but it also says to not be foolish. Proverbs 22:3 says, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” Jesus talks about the women waiting for the bridegroom and only five had enough lamp oil to last the night. The other five were left out of the wedding. Joseph’s job in Egypt was to prepare his country for the approaching years of famine and in the end he was able to help neighboring countries and his own family.
Having food and supplies on hand for possible situations that may arise is being prepared so you don’t have to worry. In fact, those who are prepared will probably be the ones who can then help other people. It is still important to have faith in God and rely on Him. Your efforts in preparedness are to help you face the future, not to make you worry or trust God less.
What the series will cover
The next few articles in this series will cover food storage, supplies to have on hand, evacuation and the worst-case scenarios. If you have any specific questions or topics you want covered, leave me a message in the comments below.
One book that is a great resource if you want more detailed information on being prepared is Survival Mom by Lisa Bedford.
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