Life's Too Short Column: Are You Prepared?

Somewhere on that path moving from managing your world and the feeling “you got this,” to that place where you feel society has kicked you to the curb and you can’t even manage to order an electric pencil sharpener online correctly, life will suddenly make you aware that you are, after all, very useful, needed, and capable…if you’ve prepared.

And, I’m not talking about having an extra package of toilet paper in your bathroom cupboard. I’m talking about the mental grit needed to assure others to stay calm; the ability to think rationally when lots of things are changing quickly and the ability to exercise caution without feeling your freedoms are threatened. And, most of all, to be grateful for today.

Looking back, I can see where every seemingly trivial job I held has helped prepare me in such huge ways for future experiences I could not have anticipated. After working in the Charles Sammons Cancer Center at Baylor University Medical Center while my husband’s job was in Dallas, for example, gave me empathy and understanding of living one day at a time with gratitude, perseverance, and hope.

Friendliness brings great rewards. I heard the patient’s stories and their experiences went into my heart. I didn’t sit down with my reporter’s tablet and interview them. These were conversations that came sweetly while pushing their wheelchairs or while they waited for treatments.

Lately, all of these have helped me offer comfort to a younger generation and to those with no faith.

When we open our eyes in America, we are truly blessed. It is important that we do not let those with extreme voices shut us down with far-reaching conclusions that the government is going to take over and we all need to bear arms.

When I saw the Walmart staff guarding the toilet paper isle when there were only four cases on that entire row, I knew too many had panicked. I joked with the people there and we all had a good laugh because, it is truly silly.

I knew that many did not have the ability to think rationally about this virus and now that we’ve been ordered to shelter in place, there are probably even more people scared about their future. It is not too late to prepare, not only with household needs but also with uncertainty.

Being shut in should serve as a reminder of how important our freedom is and worth fighting for and an incentive to get involved in your local government.

Seventy-seven people did. Thanks to Councilman Minnema’s social media posts about an urgent City Council meeting held online Thursday night, lots of people joined in the new format called Zoom. The purpose of the meeting was to establish penalties that was required under the County and State’s ‘Shelter-in-Place’ Order. It was amazing that we could see and hear other people as well as the city leaders.

Many questions were answered, and good decisions were made such as choosing civil penalties instead of criminal penalties when there are violations of the order and they established a fine structure when warnings don’t work.

There will be fines of $100, $250, $500 and $1,000 so people pay attention. If you’re not sure if it is “essential” to go to the hardware or grocery store, better read the order which is on the County website.

Those making decisions on our behalf are doing their best although there are going to be tested bank accounts all over our city and country. It is never too late to start preparing for the unknown and the best way is to have a strong spirit. All those Sunday School classes growing up and all those sermons over my lifetime have given me rich rewards and I feel prepared to console others, calm others, and impart the peace that comes with gratitude for the present.

Several of our local churches have put their sermons online and soon, there will be Bible studies as well. When you shelter in place, I hope you’ll feel the peace that even in uncertain times, God will never leave you.

Robert J. Morgan offered these words on perseverance: Looking back over the years, I’ve never faced a crisis in which, in response to earnest prayer, whether it was prolonged or instant, God didn’t make a way. (James 5:16.) That’s the great secret of those who put their hands in the hand of the One who can part the seas.”

Debra Dingman, an award-winning journalist and author, is a 27-year Dixon resident and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Her book Learning A+ Living, Adventures & Rewards of a Mom Entrepreneur, is published by WestBow Press and is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and on TWMpublicrelations.com.