A Place of Refuge

We moved to our home on 20 acres about 20 years ago. We moved simply because we wanted out of the city, but as I walked around our property on that first day, something spoke to my heart and I “felt” that someday this place would be a refuge.  15 years later, that memory came back to me.  All of a sudden I felt an urgency to prepare.  I wasn’t exactly sure for what, but I knew that I needed to be ready for a melt down of some sort.  For the last 4-5 years I’ve felt as if I were caught up in a whirlwind!  So many things to learn, so much to do!

First, I got chickens and learned about raising them, then goats came along, dairy goats to be precise.  Besides the fencing and the housing, the feeding and the breeding, I had to learn how to milk and make all sorts of things from the milk that they provided.  I learned about canning and preserving foods, alternative medicines, fermenting, and began collecting all sorts of odds and ends that might someday come in handy!  Gardening is a talent I am still working on!

As I said before, I don’t know what is coming.  It might be a pandemic, terrorism, stock market crash, natural disaster, or a combination of all of these things, (my personal thought), but I believe that we all need to be prepared, not only for ourselves but for our loved ones and our neighbors.

For the most part, I’ve been alone on this journey.  My husband is supportive, but he just lets me do my thing.  Most of my friends and family agree with me and say things like, “You’re right!  I really should do something, I know…..”, but nothing gets done.

I’ve seen many “apocalyptic” type shows, like “The Colony” and I’ve read and listened to many “preppers” talking about how they are preparing to protect themselves and defend their provisions against anyone who would try to take it away from them.  I understand their position, but I know that I could never turn away a hungry person, especially a child!

My goal, my vision you might say, is to be a place of refuge for those people who never followed through on what they knew that they should do.  I envision a place that is almost a “commune” style with shared work loads and community dinners.  Hopefully someone will know more about gardening than I do and will be able to take over that horrible chore from me!  Ha!  I’m not naïve to think that there won’t be problems, but I will let my police chief husband deal with those when the time comes!  Meanwhile, I keep collecting tents, building shelters, canning foods, and learning more and more skills.

The Bible says that whoever gives a glass of water to someone in need does so unto God Himself.  That’s my heart.  I firmly believe that as long as I do what I’m able to do NOW, God will take care of the rest LATER.  After all, He fed 5,000 with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish!

D.C. OK