I moved to North Carolina over a year ago. What the weather might be like never came to mind as I prepared to move here. Upon my arrival, I was reminded that I had moved into a hurricane zone.
I only heard about hurricane Florence last Tuesday when a friend from the west coast asked me, “Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the storm that’s coming your way?”
“What storm?” I asked. So I looked it up and found hurricane Florence, working herself up into a full fury over the Atlantic Ocean from the western coast of Africa.
Florence never intimidated me. I’ve lived in other areas where flooding, fire, tornadoes, earthquakes, hailstorms, electrical storms, typhoons, dust storms, extreme heat waves, and blizzards take place almost every year.
In ninth grade, the one and only day I rode my brand new bike that matched my school colors to school, we had a tornado warning. We got stuck in the bottom floor, waiting for it to subside. When it did, I had to ride my bike home while being pelted with hailstones.
I’ve never actually experienced the brunt of a hurricane before, so as soon as I learned Florence was coming our way, I started praying. I prayed that winds would die down to below 100 mph and that no lives would be lost. It was gratifying to see the Lord answer some of our prayers.
As of the time of this writing Friday morning, Florence had been downgraded to a category one from a category four, but the winds were still 85 mph. Now I’m praying for winds to die down to 30 mph, for Flo to spin herself back out to the ocean and die, and that the widespread predictions of power being out in our area for days, if not weeks, would be supernaturally neutralized by God.
However, I’m prepared for the worst and praying for the best. I’m stocked up on water; waiting an hour for Trader Joe’s to replenish their shelves with five pallets of water was worth it!
I’m good with extra batteries, snacks, and protein I don’t have to cook. I keep my phone charged to 100% as often as I can. And I am calm and filled with God’s peace as I stay in touch with friends who live east of me and who are facing the full force of Florence’s wrath.
When disasters of any sort come upon you, do you fight or flee?
Both responses are valid at appropriate times. Those who were directed to evacuate from the coastal communities but didn’t, had to be rescued later, like the 150–200 people who had to be rescued from New Bern, NC, over the weekend. On the other hand, there are people who are fighting for their marriages.
Preparing for a disaster starts before it strikes. Be ready spiritually and not just physically ready. Click To TweetHow can you prepare for something big, like a disaster, that you may or may not see coming, but has huge implications for your life? I have seven ideas:
1. Have a disaster kit and a disaster plan. Know the escape routes in your area, including alternate and surface street routes, and be prepared to leave on very short notice. Have extra medication and valuable documents like deeds, bank info, social security cards, and passports ready to go sealed in double plastic, ready to take in backpacks as you flee.
Are there temptations, time-wasters, or “bad people” threatening to take over your life? Seal your soul in God’s Word, take the escape route, and flee!
2. Stay connected to the power source. God doesn’t need you to stay connected to Him; you need to stay connected to Him—in prayer! Even if you have a physical power outage, you will never be separated from His love and power. He can fortify, comfort, and direct you as to whether you should stay or leave a situation.
3. Keep a portable source of light nearby. Being in God’s Word daily and knowing it well makes it 
easier to apply the empowering light of scripture to your own heart. It’s like having back-up power in case the lights go out. What would you do if suddenly all physical bibles and your access to the Internet disappeared?
4. Be alert to changes happening around you. I’m sure I would have heard about Florence sooner or later, but thankfully my buddy warned me she was coming. What’s new with you? Do you have a new neighbor or coworker? Did your area just go through a change in governing authorities? Is a natural disaster or a wannabe romance headed your way? These all have spiritual ramifications that you must pay attention to. Then you can discern your next steps instead of being panicked, bamboozled, or distracted.
5. Do what you can with what you have. That’s all you’re asked to do for yourself and others in a disaster. Don’t overextend yourself by trying to do something you aren’t qualified to do, like CPR. Or giving unsolicited advice about spiritual situations you’re not familiar with.
6. Be kind and patient toward others in the midst of the disaster. Everyone’s tired and perhaps uneasy as you all face a giant together. You haven’t walked in others’ shoes to know exactly what they went through, just to get where they are right now. Be a channel of God’s love and power. Smile, compliment, encourage, reach out, share information and necessities, and offer to pray. Though I don’t often engage in conversation with strangers, I had a great time sharing with another customer while we were waiting for the water.
7. Have a plan to reconnect in case everyone’s separated. Keep others posted with regular updates of your prayer requests. Prayer is like having a contact point with friends and family in the midst of a catastrophe. Be sure you already have friends in place who can help you walk through the deep and honest things of whatever’s ailing you.
Preparing for a disaster starts before it strikes. Be ready spiritually and not just physically ready.
30 Days of Prayer for Christian Singles is underway on my blog’s FB page! I am posting a different topic relevant to single Christians and an accompanying prayer every day in the month of September. Each Sunday night in September, I am also praying over the topics from the last seven days as well as individual requests on Facebook Live 9:00P EST. To see the topic and prayer of the day, click here: https://www.facebook.com/4singlechristians
