Preparation > Reaction

I had just gotten back from a long day of work out and about here in NoCo.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s a little smokey out.

We have over 6,000 acres of mountainous land right here on the front range on fire with many ranches and houses in direct line of the two 0% contained fires.

30 minutes before I was contacted by a friend from another church asking if I would be willing to utilize my unique ability as a connector to rally some support for the over 2500 displaced homes right here in our backyard.

The answer was obviously yes.

But then fast forward to the kitchen table as I hurriedly ate my dinner watching the vehicles pour in.

I thought about several meetings I was a part of 4 years ago in 2020.

Several men gathered and discussed creating a crisis intervention/response unit here in NoCo between several of ourchurches.

Nothing super formal, just organized enough that when stuff like this happens, we can activate multiple (or one larger) units to respond immediately to local crises, with the primary goal to display Christ and share the Gospel through practical support.

This was a reaction to COVID-19, 4 years ago.

Here I am eating a late dinner in 2024 and I’m realizing that pretty neat idea never took shape.

But here I am reacting to the crisis on the fly (and praise the Lord for the orgs that do exist and are active that we can plug into… they’re amazing).

And it’s made me realize.

We often neglect preparation during the “boring” seasons of life and catch ourselves scrambling during the “crisis” seasons.

It seems crazy to store up totes with toiletries and canned goods to give out … especially when times are good.

But man, how nice it would be when shelves get wiped out (remember those weird times?) if we had stores of resources, not for our use and preservation, but to use in support of those who have nothing.

Preparation in the mundane > reaction in the crisis.

How can I spend time in preparation NOW before a crisis hits?

Again, not in fear, but to be ready to give and support others.

Where do I need to be focusing on preparation to avoid a chaotic reaction later?

What does consistency look like today in my preparation?

Never miss two days.

That’s all I’ve got tonight!

If you’re interested in supporting the displaced families of NoCo during this volatile and dynamic situation, please reply here and I’ll get you the info you’ll need for helping those in need here - there’s plenty for everyone to jump in on!