Don't Ever Give Up!

What do you do on those days when you get up in the morning and you just don't want it to be so? You don't want our once great country to be deteriorating right before our eyes. You don't want to know, deep down, that you will have to live without many things: running water; hot showers; all the luxuries that reliable electricity brings; the safety of a society that functions under the rule of law; a never ending supply of food, necessities and all that extra stuff that makes life easy right at your finger tips; the ability to get in your car and drive anywhere you want to go; and the list goes on and on and on. I have tried sticking my head in the sand, but it just doesn't work, it doesn't do any good. Reality is reality, and it is something we all have to deal with, whether we like it or not. Because the way of life we have enjoyed up to this point is going to come to a screeching halt, one way or another. It is just a matter of time.

What do you do? How do you handle it? What can we do besides keep on going? There are days I try not to think about it too much, but it never works. As soon as we read the next news story or realize there is another thing we need to prepare, there it is again. With almost every activity of the day, I think, okay, what if......How would I do this then? Would it be a necessity or could it be eliminated altogether? If it is a necessity then how could we accomplish it, or could we?

It would be nice if the restriction of our rights were only a plot in a movie. It would be nice if there were jobs for everyone. Not just for those that are looking for them, but everyone. It would be nice if we returned to a day's bread for a day's work. It would be nice if people actually liked each other instead of encouraging hatred without even knowing the first thing about each other. It would be nice. But it's not. The world we live in is not the world I came from. It has gone. To where I do not know. But it is gone. And many days I miss it. But I do not have the time to waste in mourning something I cannot change. I have much to prepare. And so, even on those days I do not want it to be so, I get up and get with it. I reach down into that bag of gumption I have been stockpiling, grab a handful and put it to work.

Gumption. Defined as: 1) boldness of enterprise; initiative or aggressiveness, 2) guts; spunk, and 3) common sense. Do you have plenty? Have you nurtured a good store of it? You should make sure you have gathered enough to fill a few buckets. When those days come that

you need some, it will be there. You need to make sure you replace that which is used so there will always be some in reserve. Because you're going to need it. Lots of it. Gumption will help you get through the day when you're not sure what is going on because we have been cut off from all information. It will help you when you're so tired from not sleeping because of worry or fear, but you know there are chores to be done. It will help you carry on when you don't know what to do next because your world has been turned upside down.

When those days come that I don't want it to be so, when I wonder what will become of us all, after I go through the fear and doubt, I always come back to this. We will do all we can, with what we have, as long as we can. We will never give up. Period. Don't ever get on the truck. The good Lord has put us here for a reason and we will do what we can with His help.

We pray you do the same.

Fern