Are You Ready?

Ice, sleet, and snow – oh my!

For the past two weeks, my tiny hometown has been dealing with the aftermath of a winter storm that devastated much of the area. It is estimated that my county and the surrounding counties received close to an inch of ice. Since then, we have watched as the National Guard, Samaritans’ Purse, Eight Days of Hope, and others have rallied to help our hurting community, many of whom are still without power.

But before the storm hit, my husband and I heard many stories from our parents and grandparents about the last ice storm that impacted them. As this one grew closer, these ice storm pros all told us the same thing: Be prepared.

Now, there may be a little doomsday prepper in my husband and me alike, but the days leading up to the storm were a blur. We spent two entire days working to get everything ready, cleaned, washed, and prepped.

We were told to expect power outages. So, that meant we had to plan for a heat source and make sure we had food that would be edible and easy to fix without power.

My husband (who is strong and mighty) got to work making sure that we had enough firewood to last us more than a week of burning straight in our wood-burning stove. Meanwhile, my job was collecting groceries, water, and snacks for our family of three. As we worked, our little one (15 months old) sat amused by his container of Cheeto-puffs, not concerned about our impending freeze.

But then, the storm hit.

We started with some sleet and snow, along with a warm, well-lit house to keep us nice and toasty. But as we went to sleep that night, we had no clue what we would wake up to.

In the wee hours of the morning, I was awoken by the sound of what I could only relate to that of bombs dropping in any WWII movie I’ve ever watched. Trees and limbs cracked and fell from the highest of heights. In our bed, I prayed for protection, specifically praying that those green giants avoid our house and baby, who slept so soundly.

By the time the sun came up, we had completely lost power, and water was gone by lunch. To make matters more complicated, it would also be days before we could safely make it down our road due to downed power lines and debris.

The devastation around us was “catastrophic,” as one news network explained it.

The Weather Channel reported that “Tennessee and Mississippi [had] the highest number of power outages, with more than 80,000 homes and businesses without electricity in each state, according to the latest numbers from PowerOutage.us.”

However, inside our home, we were prepared (as we could be).

For days in advance, the local weatherman told us what was happening and when the storm would hit. We could’ve ignored the signs, but if we had, I can’t imagine how we would have survived our time in the darkness.

This lesson taught me how important it is to be ready for the unexpected – and Jesus’s return.

In Scripture, we are given many signs of what the end times will look like. Matthew 25 does a great job of explaining some of these signs, but the one thing no one knows, unlike this horrendous weather, is when that day will come.

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 25:36-39).

Someday, there won’t be any time left to decide to follow Christ and trust His plan of salvation. In the blink of an eye, He will be back to collect those of us who have decided to trust Him. But when that hour happens, for those without Him, there will be no chances left to accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Are you ready for His return?

There is no better time than today to prepare.

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