Life has a funny way of putting us in our place. One day you are on top of the world and in the blink of an eye, you’re rolling in the muck. Most people don’t realize just how close they are to devastation and having it all slip through their fingers. Those with more to lose are more at risk – they have further to fall to hit rock bottom. No matter, the point is that life happens to us all and we can either suffer through it – or survive it!
So what do I mean by survive any life?
Early on in 2013 I realized that it was NOT going to be a good year for my family. I am a woman of faith and it seemed that the hosts of hell had conspired against my family. Now whether or not you believe as I do is besides the point. My point is that our lives were amazing, no real issues, then it all changed. Over the course of 2013 my husband would contract Meningitis, endure significant pay losses, have a company partnership fail and suffer the loss of the employment after the partnership failing. All within an 8 month time frame, it was not a good year. Needless to say my faith was certainly being tested, as was the strength of my marriage.
Most of my adult life I have known about preparedness. I have heard to have at least a three month supply of food and water, money in reserve and to live a self-reliant life style. I failed to heed these loving suggestions from church leaders, despite the testimonies that raged against my refusal to start. It was always “Oh I’ll do that later” or “I don’t have the money for that” or even “I REALLY need to get started” and then failing to do so.
Late 2012 my husband and I had a “Come to Jesus” discussion about our view of the events happening in the world and our preparedness level. It was a moment of awakening so we finally decided it was time to start. No more excuses! We NEEDED to have a supply of food and water (we live in the desert after all) and needed to be more self-reliant. I did the only thing I knew – I shopped the local stores for deals and sales. The Smith’s Case Lot Sale was my best friend! In a few short months I had amassed about a 3-4 week supply of food for my family! Not to shabby, but it wasn’t enough! When the time came for us to put that food to use, I quickly realized how little I had done. Meats, milks, seasonings and staple items ran out. We were reduced to ramen noodles and chicken with rice. Needless to say it was a while before I wanted either of those items again! It was a real eye opener.
I quickly realized that being prepared was not about doomsday or Armageddon or even a hostile government takeover (like certain shows would have you believe), it’s about REAL, everyday events that can (and most likely will) affect your family. The fact of the matter is that you’re more likely to be stranded on the side of the road in an accident or broke down than some giant meteor hitting the planet! We see these events just about everyday and yet we ignore them because they are happening to someone else. I know this is true, because I did it too! We go through life believing that nothing bad will happen to us and we are safe from the turmoil that others experience. We LIE to ourselves ever… single… day!
As I was going through my personal struggles last year, I realized that a self-reliant and prepared lifestyle wasn’t for the end of the world. It only makes sense that if the world is ending, it doesn’t matter how much food or ammo you have stocked up. It means being able to survive ANYTHING that life throws at you. We all have those moments in life where Murphy’s proverbial laws take us by surprise, or we are made to make lemonade out of the lemons (or whole lemon tree it seems) that are thrown at us. We all experience illness, economic downfalls or just plain bad luck!
So, survive any life was born. It’s my mantra now! By simply applying some common sense to my life I can better prepare myself for those events that I can’t see coming – and so can you. In 2012 when I started stocking up on food, I had not clue my husband would become so ill that he would be hospitalized and out of work for nearly a month. I didn’t have my crystal ball to show me that the partnership we were in, would fail or that the subsequent job we obtained would be terminated. We don’t see these things coming, but we can be prepared for their probability. I say probability because it’s definitely more than possible that some sort of event will affect your life – it’s almost certain! With some preparations you can survive anything that life throws at you. You can survive any life!
Prepping does not consume my life and it shouldn’t. Many people believe that to prepare you must think, live, eat, sleep and breathe preparedness. Completely untrue! My family still enjoys many activities that don’t involve preparedness. We attend church, go camping and hiking, go to movies and much more! You can live a “normal” life. Stephen King said it best, “There's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst.” So live your life, have fun, travel and do what makes you happy. Enjoy the good time, but prepare for those hard times too!!!
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