Good News—Tough Times Ahead!

newsI’m not sure why, but I actually got a bit excited at the announcement I heard from two elderly ladies in church last Sunday. Having not escaped the decades of wear and tear, her wrinkled skin, grey hair, and a weakened posture didn’t seem to be damper her childlike excitement as she announced that she and her 86 year-old mother were there “just visiting her granddaughter in hopes to be there for the birth of her first great-grandchild and great-great-grandchild respectively.” Anxious to be there and perhaps even snag a five generation photo, their excitement was contagious to the rest of us. You heard a low roar of excitement in the room from the crowd of enthusiastic supporters of the good news. Then it hit me…

“Good news.”

Yes, this was good news. Surely it was likely that there would be hours and hours of painful labor with medical and family personnel walking the halls in anticipation of this event. And yes, there are some dangerous, even fatal possibilities involved in giving birth, but I can’t recall ever hearing someone’s news of expecting a child being smothered by all of the possible gloom and doom that comes with it, can you? I mean really, if I were to finally announce that I was pregnant, what kind of a moron would say “Oh my gosh! Pregnancy will make you feel subhuman with all of the barfing, strange mood swings, and even stranger food cravings. Your back will hurt; your hips will hurt; your ankles will swell; and you won’t want anyone to come within 10 feet of your breasts. Labor is going to be the worst pain you’ve ever gone through in your life; and there will be lots of blood and lots of tears and you’ll just want to die! And then afterwards you may even have a serious case of post-partum depression!?”

newsSeriously, has anyone who’s announce the pending birth ever been confronted with such a response? NO!  Of course not.  Instead we overlook the inevitable “terrible twos” and the “mind-numbing teenage years” which are surely ahead; and we truly rejoice that another life will be brought to a loving family to nurture and to care for. Perhaps we allow ourselves to dream as to what a great person this little embryo will become to our family, our home, our community or even our nation.  Yes, for most, anticipation of the birth of a child is surely a joy-filled emotion in spite of all of the preparation that’s necessary. Certainly it’s not a dreaded event laced with debilitating fear and paralyzing panic. I’ve seen plenty of soon-to-be new parents shopping among the baby supplies for that first bed, the ideal wallpaper, and so forth. Smiles abound and even seem to be laced with a reverent joy.

newsSo…question for you; why do we tolerate a gloom and doom, fear and panic kind of a response in our life when it comes to preparedness? In fact, I believe that the two scenarios are quite similar. Yes, there will be labor pains beyond imagination. Yes, there is a great deal of unknown.  But once a family is shored up with appropriate baby supplies, knowledge, and medical care, we tend to easily overlook the painful and fearful side of things in lieu of the joy of the occasion. We find a great many reasons to celebrate even when directly in the path of the stress and hard work involved in the delivery of a new baby. Our trepidation is swallowed up greatly by the comprehension of sharing in the creation of one of the earth’s greatest blessings, and it’s truly awe-inspiring.

Yes, I understand that a financial collapse will be devastating to everyone regardless of their level of preparedness, because it will still manifest scenes of sorrow and despair of which we never fully anticipated or conceived.  Yes, a serious earthquake in the mid-west area around where Tennessee and Missouri meet is sure to be felt all the way up to Maine and to bring chaos all the way down to the tip of the peninsula and cost many lives and billions of dollars worth of damage. And yes, a terrorist-launched electromagnetic pulse would throw our nation back to the 18th century in many ways.  But in spite of those challenges, can we not still be prepared and thus look forward to such as an event and have faith that “all will be well” if we are suitably prepared? In fact are there not countless indications that in the face of such an event, all might actually be much more improved than it is now?

newsAlarming News Doesn't Have to Mean Panic

While there are countless stories that alarm us, such as when we read of the aftermath of the breaking of the Teton Dam, the bombing of the World Trade Center, and the devouring effects of hurricane Katrina, we also are encouraged by all that went right—families drawn closer, priorities reestablished, and fortitude strengthened. Perhaps this is why, when I think of tougher times, I can honestly say that I have a sense of peace where others only see from a perspective of fear. I even feel a bit excited to see how things will pan out. I don’t consider myself naïve as to the unpleasantries that will be a part of such events, rather I feel driven to do what I can now in comfortable circumstances to alleviate as much of those unpleasant circumstances in the future as I can. In fact, I guess when you dig right down to the core of my being, that’s what preparedness is about for me—being able to focus on “the better part” and to have joy therein. This belief is such a conviction to me, that I actually feel a bit ruffled when I hear words such as “disaster, emergency, and food storage” as if someone is attempting to rob me of, or at least dilute the peaceful reality of, the upcoming events as I see them.

In an effort not to offend anyone’s particular value system I won’t get into all of the why’s and what not’s that cause me to feel that I have reason to actually look forward to tougher times, but I will say that I do indeed believe that upcoming challenging times are indeed very symbolic of giving birth to a new life, and as such can be anticipated with joy or fear. It’s a choice.


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Comments

BRAVO! I love this post -- my feelings exactly, yet I didn't know how to put it into words! Thank you!

Howdy Kellene,
I'm in 100% agreement with you! When starting it a couple of years ago and advocating still to our Montana self-reliance preparedness group, BSOSC (Bitterroot Survival Outfitting Systems), www.bsoscblog.com, we are all about having fun in learning the self-reliance skills of our great and grandparents. In the process, we are all making many new friendships, being drawn together by this group, whereas, otherwise, most of us would have never met. Fear is not a driving factor as with many. Prep fun is what makes us run! Many kudos to you in all the good work you are doing in this regard to help folks prep.
Happy Preparedness Trails,
Jim

Right on! Lady. I love your blogs, you are so with it. Miss seeing you at the different places. Thanks ever so much. Mareen

Great article as usual Kellene....100% agreement....Now to Jim Farley...I live in Montana and would love to find like minded people to share,learn from...I too look at prep as fun, and try to work at it everyday, would love to hear fro you or anyone in yourt [email protected] Thanks

Great post!

What a great comparison! I have six children, so I can certainly identify! Even though we are well prepared and have studied the scriptures, there exists that fear of the unknown that raises its ugly head at times. Your post certainly illustrates the anticipation of the beautiful rebirth that is coming!

I started thinking about preparedness after a 2007 ice storm caused massive power outages and I was forced to leave my home after my 1/2 rick of firewood ran out. Then came the economic meltdown that caused my retirement to lose 45% of its value (since recovered). While searching the web for info about preparedness I found your site and a few others that solidified my need to be self-sufficient. It is one of the most proactive things that I have done and gives me deep satisfaction every time I put another few #10 cans in the coat closet (and linen closet and under the bed, etc.).
I know now that 'we ain't seen nothing' yet. After taking more control of my finances, following the stock market, watching agricultural data, and seeing government response to disasters it is obvious that if TSHTF then we are on our own.
I keep quiet about it now as anyone that I talked to about it thought I had lost my mind so I continue to prep and put away a bit more for my family.
I am an older (62), single woman that values my independence and, as I continue to prep, feel more empowered and able to care for myself.
Thanks to you and your compatriots for the motivation and information, I am ready for the winter of 2010 and any other challenges that come my way. No doom or gloom but rather a serene assurance that I can prevail.
Thank you for opening my eyes and providing invaluable info.

You hit it right on. Thanks for inspiring me to higher ways of thinking once again.

You are so right Kellene the greatest blessings often come from the hardest tests. I'm not a parent, I didn't think I could do a good job raising a child. Plus being in the Army made it impossible to give a child 100% effort. But I think becoming disabled made me a better person emotionaly and spiritually. I'm a heck of of a lot better at counting my blessings than I ever was before.

One thing nice about hitting rock botom, you can only go up from there.

Great post! Through the suffering, we find peace. It reminds me of a bible verse that I read resently.

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us". Romans 5:3-5

Without suffering, we cannot grow into better individuals. Without the bad events that have transpired over the years, many of us would not be in the very spot we are today... That is, more self reliant, stronger individuals ready to face a fearce storm.

Thank you again for this post. It articulates what many of us are feeling.

KELLENE HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF SILVER SOL AND IF SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT?

Are you talking about Collodial Silver?

Nope. Can't say I have.

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