Hardships Endured Without Fear

All of us at one time or another think about “what ifs.”  The fact is that because of our planning for some of the “what ifs” in life we have things that we purchase or do to prepare for them. Things like life insurance, auto insurance, medical insurance, disability insurance, and even unemployment insurance are there for the accidents, emergencies, and bumps in life. There are some who protect or prepare for life’s curves by being particular about what they eat or use in the way of household products, the exercise they do and their personal cleanliness practices. These all seem to be acceptable ways of preparing for what may or may not happen to any of us at any given time. We even think that someone who has not prepared in these ways is being irresponsible. So why is it that when someone prepares for more than the so called average person we think they are nuts?

The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared”. I am also Christian and the scriptures teach “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear”. Both of these are great admonitions that if we practiced more fully we would not be afraid of what life throws at us because life happens when we least expect it and are not looking for it.

I began my prepping many years ago when I was taught , as a teenager, how to sew, cook from scratch, can from the garden and grow a garden. Now we did not call it prepping, in fact it was just a way of life, not even one I always appreciated. ( This was during the time when inflation was at a high, gas shortages were happening and getting jobs was hard at times.) It was a way of stretching our dollars or resources to provide the most benefit for our family. I grew to like some aspects and it became a source of personal accomplishments that increased my confidence to be able to do for myself. Because of these experiences, as I got married and started my own family I continued to practice some of these skills. I found that as time went by I was having a harder time stretching our resources and being able to do all that I wanted to. Into my life came a dear friend who has changed my thinking and taught me many new skills; not the least of which was couponing;  she also introduced me to thrift and second hand stores.

These new skills, along with others, helped me to eventually become a stay at home mom and live on mostly one income–which is what I had always wanted. This friend still inspires me today with all she accomplishes on limited income. It is because of this friend and our faith, that my family has survived two stints of unemployment without fear or many hardships. She even gave me the courage to learn how to change a sink faucet.

C.B. NV

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Now fast forward many years. I see all about me many signs of an increasing need to be prepared on more fronts than before. Everything from natural disasters to man-made disasters are happening. As my children have grown up and left home I have felt an ever increasing need to do more and learn more while helping others to learn how to do what I am learning. They say that when you teach others you learn the most and that has been my experience. In my case I was lucky to also have found a mentor that teaches me and challenges me to prepare in ways that I had not previously considered. So even though I had prepared in some areas I have come to realize that there were so many areas I had yet to learn about. I believe we are never to old to learn and that when the student is ready the teacher appears. There is no such thing as too much knowledge or skills, as such, I today am still learning and doing and teaching.