There have been many articles in the last couple of years about preppers or survivalists (people who stockpile food, water and other necessities in case of a calamity, the apocalypse or something like that happens) are no longer fringe groups. People from all walks of life, are interested in being prepared. Preppers have gone mainstream and there are millions of them. When I watched what happened in Texas last week and read about it, (such a sad situation of people losing electricity for days in extreme cold and then water problems) it becomes very evident that in the event of a natural disaster or weather related catastrophe, the government cannot mobilize fast enough or deal with the situation adequately. You are on your own for awhile, that seems to be what happened there. So it seems the preppers have been right all along, it's best to be prepared, even if it means just having plenty of canned foods, first aid kits, a portable generator and battery operated heaters on hand.
I'm not running out to buy any freeze dried food (which can last for 20 years or more) but I am starting to think about how important it is to be prepared for any scenario. If the climate scientists are correct, we are going to be having more violent and unpredictable storms in the future, because of climate change. (Pope Francis has tried to warn us.)
What does this all have to do with God? Well, God gave us a beautiful creation, but we keep abusing it. That has consequences as Pope Francis has stated in Laudato si. Environmental degradation is causing terrible problems and this will only get worse if we don't turn the situation around. Human beings tend to be stubborn and self-centered. Pride is a deadly sin for good reason. I hope young people will take this seriously enough, to make a difference.
Maybe a good thing to do this Lent would be to think about what more we can personally do to help the environment. Think about and work towards reducing your carbon footprint. Churches should have that on the agenda too. I have to do the same. And start thinking about what constructive ideas you can take from the preppers, without retreating to a bunker.
Nancy
