What's Your Contingency Plan

The Great Ice Storm of ....

Over the past three or four winters in our area, you can insert the year depending on where you lived when one of the ice storms hit and put people without power and heat for several days. I remember the one that hit my hometown in 2007. We were without electricity for 12 days. Some in our area were without power for three weeks.

Now, ice storms aren't that uncommon in our parts. There is typically the threat of at least one or two every winter. But, those are usually small accumulations. Rarely do we see more than an inch. In 2007, we did...and we weren't prepared.

What followed was a rush on area stores for food supplies, generators, fuel, etc. Quite a few people temporarily vacated their homes (like us) to stay with friends and family who had power.

Ultimately, few people had a backup plan in place. Most developed a plan on the fly.

Now, if another such ice storm hit, many people in our area would have a plan B. A lot of homeowners now own generators, and take ice storm chatter more seriously.

In life, many times we don't have a contingency plan when stuff, either good or bad, happens. Without proper planning, we miss out on the good stuff, because we don't know how to receive it. And, we get hit harder by the bad stuff, because there isn't a plan B.

I was reminded of this yesterday at a conference here in town. The event was just wrapping up when power was cut to the building by a car crash just down the road. The backup plan was made up on the fly.

Proverbs 13:16 talks about how wise people plan ahead. Proverbs 21:5 mentions that good work and proper planning have their advantages.

Plan ahead. Think out the future. Sure, some things cannot be fully prepared for. But, if you do your best to think ahead, you'll have a pretty good idea of what direction to take when disaster does strike.