Prepper

It's been a joke for years that my husband is a prepper.  People joke that he has tins, cans, and even bunkers buried in our yard in case of a zombie apocalypse.  I’ve even bought signs on his barn that say,  “Zombie Zone” and “Beware”.  Of course, it’s all fun, but some people are preparing for the bomb to drop.

During the Cold War, people started building bomb shelters.  People in the country built tornado shelters.  Each had rations, food, water, clothing, and basic supplies to help them survive in case of a disaster.

In the 1999 movie “Blast From the Past,” the star comes out of a shelter after spending his whole life, 35 years, hiding from what they thought was a nuclear attack.  Turns out, it was a plane crash.  These people were preppers.  35 years underground.

Y2K brought it back to the forefront with cries that the infrastructure would be able to click over to 2000.  All technology was going to come to a screeching halt and the world would be at a standstill.  Stores would close, utilities would be offline, banks would be shut down, and there would be a major depression.  My father-in-law bought toilet paper.  He knew if everything blew up as they said, he’d be able to trade it for whatever he needed.  Well, he didn’t buy toilet paper for at least 6 years.  The last major disaster that shut everything down was COVID.  We were glad we were prepared since stores did close and supplies of necessities were limited. 

Prepping is not a new thing.  The settlers from Europe wished they had planned better.  The first settlement of 500 dwindled to just 51.  They were ready for their voyage across the sea but had no idea what to expect or how to plan for the new world.

Moses led the Israelites out of captivity.  They had God to provide.  He had plans to let them prosper, but they argued and wandered for 40 years, unprepared, in a desert.  They murmured against Moses and Aaron.  God rained manna down on them.  They weren't prepared, but God was.

People tend to make fun of people who prep.  But in the end, those who prepare are the ones others come to for help.  Early in our marriage, there was a snowstorm in March.  My neighbors were concerned because we were city folk.  My husband’s hands were soft and clean.  He couldn't take care of things like a country boy.  But when they came over to check on us, they were surprised.  We were prepared.  We had two kerosene heaters and kerosene, two Coleman stoves and fuel, a deep freezer, and a fully stuffed pantry.  My husband sold batteries, so we had plenty for the radio and little TV.  When the neighbors arrived, we were cooking chili, nice and warm, and our infant daughter was watching Sesame Street.  All we could say was a Boy Scout is always prepared.  Our neighbor turned from trying to help us and asked us to help others.  

Noah understood being laughed at  He was building a boat larger than any other ever built, and it was nowhere near any body of water.  It would have been one thing to have been on a seashore, but no.  And when he told the people water would fall from the sky, he might as well have said fire.  It had never rained and no one had any reason to believe him.  But when it came, he was prepared.  And when it was too late, they too believed.

We need not prepare like Noah.  We need not fear nuclear war being imminent.  We do need to prepare for the daily storms that hit us and sometimes toss us about like sailboats in a hurricane.  We can be prepared by first acknowledging that we need Christ as our Savior.  Confess that we are sinners in need of Salvation.  We need to prep daily.  We need to read the word of God and listen to His messages.  Thank Him for His mercy, forgiveness, kindness, and even rebuttal.  

Live your life so that when the storms come, big or small, God is with you to help you weather them.  Colton Dixon’s new song “Build a Boat,” says it all.  “I will build a boat in the sand where they say it never rains.  I will stand up in faith.  I’ll do anything it takes.  With your wind in my sails, Your love never fails or fades.  I’ll build a boat in the desert place."

I’ll be a prepper.

I’m a Prepper

You’re a Prepper

Don't you want to be 

a God Prepper too?