“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” Proverbs 27:12 (NIV)
Nothing in Northern California will cause your heart to beat faster than the word “Fire!” being yelled into your home.
So when I heard pounding on my front door and a voice I didn’t recognize yelling “Fire!” into our townhouse, my brain shut down.
My husband Roger and I were working from home that day in separate rooms. As soon as we heard the call, I grabbed my cell phone. Roger toted our 38-pound puggle, Jake, down the stairs, and we ended up on the grass in front of our house, barefoot and in a panic.
The scene looked like an episode of Chicago Fire — two doors down, our neighbor’s house was engulfed in flames. Next door, the house filled with smoke. We were just one or two walls away from our house going up in flames as well.
As we stood on the grass without our wallets, car keys and shoes, a thought came to me. “Rog, Jeremy didn’t come home from school yet, did he?” I asked. Jeremy was our college son, and it was his first day of classes. I had no idea what his schedule was.
“No, we would have heard him …” Roger replied, and then he ran back into the house and straight up the stairs.
Less than a minute later, Roger came out the door with Jeremy sleepily bringing up the rear.
Roger would like it noted he ran into a burning building to save his child. But it’s pretty hard to get around the fact that, while leaving a burning building, we grabbed the dog but left the kid.
Do you live under the same illusion I did, pre-fire? That when an emergency comes up, you’ll automatically know what to do?
Or maybe you know you’re unprepared for an emergency, so it’s easier just to not think about it now?
I spent most of my life living between these two extremes — putting it out of my mind, hoping there just wouldn’t be an emergency, and vastly overestimating my ability to deal with a crisis if one should come up.
But leaving the house during a fire — without all the humans — quickly dispelled all my excuses for not being prepared.
In Proverbs, one who shows care and thought for the future is someone to be emulated: “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 27:12).
After realizing crises don’t happen only to other people — they can and will happen to me — I want to be a prudent person. That’s why I try to do something every day to prepare for emergencies and inconveniences. Bad stuff happens all the time — large-scale tragedies like hurricanes, wildfires or global pandemics, and smaller-scale (yet no less devastating) disasters like a sudden health scare, job loss or a computer crash. But this doesn’t mean we have to live in constant fear.
Whether it’s mapping out next week’s dinners or doing emergency planning, I work every day to become someone who shows thought and care for the future.
I call this “taking care of my future self.” When I’m not constantly running behind, making excuses and overdrawing (not just in my bank account, but in my life), I can better take care of myself and the people I love during an emergency.
Heavenly Father, please grant me wisdom to know how to plan for the future, so I might be prepared for anything. Help me to be ready so I can also help others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY: Proverbs 21:5, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (NIV)
Proverbs 30:25, “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.” (NIV)
RELATED RESOURCES: Do you want to be prepared to take care of yourself and the ones you love in an emergency? Full of stories and humor along with facts, tips and lists, Kathi Lipp offers a down-to-earth guide in her timely book, Ready for Anything: Preparing Your Heart and Home for Any Crisis Big or Small. When you order before August 1, you’ll also receive a free download for the e-course, Kickstart to Clutter Free, and the e-books, Cooking in a Crisis and the 5-Day Family Curriculum for Crisis Preparation.
CONNECT: Visit Kathi’s website to download her free Food Prep System, including inventory sheets, a shopping list and a printable meal planner.
Enter to WIN your very own copy of Ready for Anything by Kathi Lipp. To celebrate this book, Kathi’s publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We’ll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, August 3, 2020.}
REFLECT AND RESPOND: How are you building your planning muscles every day?
How have you seen God’s hand in an emergency, big or small, in your life? Share your story in the comments of how He’s protected and provided for you.
Kathi Lipp inspires thousands of women each year to strip down their expectations and live with real purpose. With humor and wisdom, Kathi offers hope paired with practical steps to living with meaning. © 2020 by Kathi Lipp. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.
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Proverbs 31 Ministries
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Matthews, NC 28105
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