FOOD STORAGE JUNKIE!!!

I'll be leaving on a jet plane for Utah on Labor Day. And what a "labor day" it will be . . . (well, at least the day after)as my oldest son and his wife will be heading off to the hospital on Tuesday to deliver their third child! (Pinch the grandma!)

I strode through the store aisles today, looking for last minute "grandma" type goodies and toys to tuck into my bag to entertain my new grandson's siblings. A few things! That was it! But I left with my bill totalling about seven times what I had expected to spend. The theme of my purchases? Food Storage. Yes, I am food storage junkie.

Two people live in my house--Tom and me, plus the elders downstairs who are our ocassional dinner guests, and yet we have two refrigerators and two freezers, and all four are full! Our basement looks like the Civil Defense shelter for the free world, and on top of that, every "BOGOF" offer calls to me like a temptress, seemingly whispering, "You never know. . . If you get shut in during a blizzard, you might crave Double Stuffed Oreos!

In truth, I live in the mission field, surrounded by neighbors who don't see the worrisome signs and who don't want to think about depressing topics like inflation, natural disaster or worse. I don't see it that way. For me, my storage is my peace . . . my personal sling and five-stone set of proven defenses that I can use to hold the Philistines of disaster at bay.

I think of children, my friends and my neighbors each time I place an extra can in the pantry . . . one for us and one for you and one for the little boy who lives down the lane. . . I realize that I'm counting on Elijah's and Brigham's miracles . . . that the barrel of meal will not waste and the cruse will not fail. I must do more than count on miracles alone. I need to teach and inspire and share all the added good news that we need not fear if we prepare. Therein lies the peace.