This is the sight I have come to dread here in Colorado. You should be able to see mountains from this view but instead it is covered with smoke from a fire in New Mexico. It seems way too early to worry about these things and I’m praying for those affected and those who willingly go to try and contain the fires each year.
Talking about being prepared for emergencies has become a popular topic recently. It can quickly become confusing and filled with fear. At least that is true for me. While building an evacuation kit has been at the back of my mind for years, these past two years definitely pushed me to gathering supplies but it has been a struggle to figure out what will work for our family. I have been encouraged to refocus on my efforts, though, because the same day we had all this smoke there was a local fire within my city that resulted in a neighborhood being evacuated for a few hours. Thankfully they were able to return home and the fire contained fairly quickly but it shattered my thought process that being in the middle of town gave me a bit more protection.
Even though I’m still trying to get things figured out, I thought I would share how I am refocusing my efforts. The first thing that has helped a lot is defining where my focus is. Karen at A Year Without the Grocery Store posted some articles that I found very helpful. It was a 2 part series that defined having an evacuation bag and having something for more extreme situations. I had not heard of that distinction before and was trying to do both in one. It has been a relief to separate the two and focus on preparing properly for two different situations. I did change terminology a bit though. She calls her two bags “Bug Out Bag” and TEOTWAWKI Bag (The End Of The World As We Know It). As far as I can tell there is no set terminology on these things so I am renaming my bags “Evacuation Bag” and “Bug Out Bag”. That makes more sense to me and is easier to say.
I’ll save more details on what my current set up is for another post but I do want to share some of the resources I’ve been using to gather information. A Year Without The Grocery Store has already been mentioned an probably the most helpful right now. There are other bloggers and youtube channels that are not as focused on this topic but have been very helpful in getting me in a good mindset. They include The Purposeful Pantry, Homesteading Family, and Roots & Refuge. I have also gotten information from Red Cross, Colorado.gov and my town’s official websites.
With all the information we can get online, be careful and wise on who you listen to. I had to stop following a few of the blogs/vlogs because they led to more fear with no path to planning. I mentioned above some of the resources I still follow that I felt I could trust and who gave sound information without adding to the panic.
More importantly, I hope you can find family and friends to do life with you so that as you plan for what may come you will have someone to encourage you along the way and stand with you when the need arises. The sources I had to stop following seemed to encourage a “lone wolf” mindset. How to take care of yourself and family then hunker down when the bad comes. I want to take care of my family, it is a huge priority, but I also want to take care of my community. We can’t do it on our own, we need each other.
For my fellow believers, above all we need God. I just started a study in Daniel and while we often hear of how strong Daniel stood in a time of turmoil, in the first couple of chapters he was surround by his three friends. Not only did they have each other but they sought God for their wisdom, direction, and protection.
To those who may read this, it isn’t a lot but I hope this encourages you and helps you to start thinking about how you can move forward in preparing for your family with hope for the future.