Before moving to Virginia my family lived in Kansas. People in Kansas took tornadoes seriously. We had tornado drills at school. These were embarrassing and hard to do for the none flexible. You had to sit on your knees and put your head towards the floor. I'm sure the teachers saw not only London and France, but a whole lot of little kid's underpants (if you've never heard it there is a little jingle that says I see London, I see France, I see so and so's underpants). Living in Kansas I took the drills seriously because we actually had tornadoes touch down in our neighborhood.
In Virginia they take hurricanes seriously. If there is even a rumor of a hurricane stores instantly become sold out of bread, eggs, spam, and milk. Ok the spam still sits on the shelf, but I thought it would be funny to include in that list. In high school the threat of a hurricane canceled school for the day. I went outside and played tennis all day. For the most part the hurricane threats in Virginia have never led to anything substantial. I'm not complaining, but it does affect the way that I react to storms.
No matter where you live you will face some type of storm. Whether it's financial, personal, or medical storms come. A lot of people do nothing to prep for the storms of life. They wait to come to God or to lean on others after the storm hits. By that point it's often too late. If you look at Jesus life He often withdrew to solitary places and spent time praying and seeking God. I think all of that investment prepared Him for the greatest storm of His life...being crucified on a cross. Jesus said in this world you will have trouble, the question is are you prepared?
Sometimes it seems that I have enough trouble dealing with the here and now that expending any resources on what ifs and maybes doesn't seem too practical. Usually my weaknesses and shortcomings are not exposed until that storm comes. It is then that God seems to get through to me and show me some things that I need to know.
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