A good friend of mine wrote me the other day and they were particularly worried. With all the news about the elections, the issues abroad with Russia, China, Korea and the Middle East coupled with the the news from our own government about judges, policies, special interests and how members of our own congress were engaging in activity that seemed treasonous, they were feeling a little panicked. freaking_outThey had only recently gotten into prepping and were feeling very afraid that they would not have enough preps in time for what ever catastrophe this country was hurling towards.

I could of course sympathize because as someone who only started prepping a few years ago, I too have been feeling like I don’t have enough to be ready. My friend already lives in a very rural area and I only recently moved my family from Denver far out into the country. I had already shared my priority list of preps that included food storage, water storage, shelter, fuel, personal protection, tools and seed banks. They had already begun working on their list and were making good progress. This was my response to them:

“Just remember not to get caught up in fear. (2T 1:7) It is real easy with all the news and information getting blasted at us 24/7. A population in fear is easier to control. Be a rebel and don’t live in fear. Live well.

Just keep working your plan. If you need help or want to talk shop, just let me know. I love talking about planning, tools, tips, strategy… I have already conceded that politically we are in a downhill slide that we cannot recover from so I try to not dwell too much in things I cannot affect, but just enough to stay aware. I truly believe this country has already entered its final tail spin but I don’t think it will end in a huge fireball. I think we will have to endure some true hardships that haven’t been seen since the Great Depression, but the people back then didn’t have any warning. I feel like we have had so much warning you would have to be blind to not see it. It is why my wife and I are out here. I want to learn how to garden, how to can, how to care for animals, woodworking, etc. These are what were considered just a few years ago to be common ordinary life skills that today most of western civilization has forgotten. Out here in the country, no one considers this prepping, they just consider it living.
Short of a physical invasion of our country (which I don’t think will happen) nothing is going to be so traumatic that it would cause us to all become refugees and fighting for our survival. We live in the country, and life as we know it will continue on without a lot of major changes. Even if we go to war, or we have a financial collapse or whatever… out here we won’t feel the brunt of whatever happens like people in the big cities will.
This is why I am such an advocate of food and water storage. It is something that everybody can start working on right now… today. If you have food and water, and a warm place to sleep and you live out in the country… you will be set. Have a means to protect yourself? Even better. Have a way to grow more food just in case your food storage runs out? Better still… but start with your food and water, then take it from there. You are actively doing something right now to prepare your family, just keep going.”
Of course you could argue that there would be many scenarios that would affect us out here in the country rather dramatically, but I do feel that for the most part, there would be a lag before rural folks were affected.
My friend was concerned for the well being of their family as well as their country. Food and water storage is a great way to protect yourself from not only large issues but also from smaller more frequent problems that can affect us all. Things like the loss of a job or your income, sickness or a death in the family, a flood or other natural disaster. I cannot advocate enough that having at least six months to a year’s worth of food and water will not only protect you, but help you sleep just that much better at night.