About the state of things...

You know, I've been reading posts from friends and family...some are worried, others are not. Some are barely getting their essentials, and others are prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse. Me? I'm tottering right smack dab in the middle. I have some stuff socked away, but not like a couple people I know, and yet, I'm still trying to figure out how to get more toilet paper (I'm good...for now) without giving up my hermit status or my first-born's birth certificate.

In case you don't know, two of us here are technically in the risky category, Mouse more than me.She's at risk because of Stage 3 lung disease from infancy, and even hay fever can turn to bronchitis or pneumonia on a dime.
Me? 60 here and have had pneumonia and bronchitis in the last 5 years. Smh. It is what it is.

That said, as far as panic is concerned...even with possible cuts in pay, yeah, I'm not there. And I've wondered about that until tonight.

As I was mulling over the posts, praying for those who've asked, something tapped me on the shoulder, figuratively speaking. The story of Joseph.

In case you don't know the story, Joseph was kind of a precocious kid who had dreams. Not like "I'm going to be a star" dreams, real live dreams where God showed him things, even though he probably didn't know it at the time. Whenever he had one, he'd run out and tell his older brothers about it, and they responded like older siblings usually do...'get away from me kid, I'm busy,' in a sense.

One day his father sent Joseph out to his brothers who were tending sheep in a field. They saw him from a distance, and decided they were going to show him a thing or two. Well, it got out of hand, and they ended up selling him to Midianite traders, who sold him into slavery in Egypt.

When one of the brothers actually came down from the high of their prank, so to speak , he mentioned that now they have a bigger problem...their dad. So they made a lie worse by killing a sheep, dipping Joseph's coat of many colors in the blood and taking it home to their father, who was inconsolable.

Fast forward to some years later. Joseph, who was initially put in charge of Potiphar's household, got framed by the boss' wife, and thrown in jail, where he stayed for a few years. The butcher and baker got tossed in there by Pharoah, and when they told Joseph their dreams, he interpreted them. When the baker was released, Joseph asked him to tell Pharoah about him.

Some time had passed and Pharaoh had a troubling dream, one his soothsayers and seers couldn't interpret. It was then the baker remembered how Joseph interpreted his, told Pharaoh. Joseph was released, and by God's leading, interpreted Pharaoh's dream, a dream of feast and famine. Pharaoh was pleased and set him Governor over Egypt, second only to himself. Then Joseph went to work.

Joseph had the people store supplies, a great deal of them, for seven years where they weren't touched. Then the famine spread over the "whole earth"...a really nasty one, and all around Egypt there was suffering, people and cattle were dying.

Joseph's father told his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain for their family and livestock. When they got there, Joseph recognized them, but they didn't know who he was. They bought what they needed and returned home. After a while, they went back for more grain, this time with their youngest brother. Joseph ordered his servants to put his silver cup and other things in the boy's sack, then sent the guards after them when they left to return home.

When they were brought back, Joseph revealed himself to them, and they were pretty shook up. I mean, you figured your brother to be a slave or worse, dead, and here he is in front of you, the Governor of Egypt.

Joseph told them in Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

I know, this is long, but there's a point to it. See, some of us have had a niggling that things might get nasty, some of us have been walking around, business as usual, and then some of us have partied like it was 1999...I don't think any of us could have imagined the USA being knocked on it's collective butts and for the most part, shut down. Some of us have been good stewards of God's provision, others, not so much. But here's the thing. Unless Jesus returns soon, this will wane, and we will get back to being us, maybe a bit wiser, maybe not...hopefully it will be the former rather than the latter, and we will look on this pandemic as a learning experience. To be honest, we should have listened to those grandparents who went through the depression a little closer, and implemented the things they did, but we didn't and we dropped the ball.

I will say this; I believe that those who have prepared spiritually, and physically will fare better than those who haven't. God has a way of getting our attention, and we've been ignoring Him way too long.

Let me encourage you to learn from this. Take action on your part to be as prepared as you can be without being a flat-out hoarder. Take the necessary steps you need to take to read, and listen to what God has to say, and to seek out salvation through His Son. I can't guarantee you won't struggle this time, or the next, but I will say that you will probably be less panicky and more level headed through this trying time, and if the feathers hit the fan again.

Remember God provided, and He will provide still