Stockpiling The Three P's

A week ago our son, Matt, drove up with a large bottle of disinfectant, some rubbing alcohol, wipes, toilet paper and hard to find foods.  What he brought will last a long time as we continue to shelter in place and seldom go a.n.y.w.h.e.r.e.  We definitely cannot be accused of stockpiling..........well not disinfectant at least but maybe toilet paper or Benitos Black Bean chips?  We have always bought in bulk, first when we were raising 8 kids and later when we had Lyme Disease and going to the store was an ordeal.....We continue to buy in bulk now, but when we do, we try to buy less of the most needed/desired items so we are not "hoarding".  We had a good chuckle over the toilet paper Matt brought us as there was a story behind it.

You see, one day a few weeks ago Joel came in and said to me, "I heard via the neighborhood grapevine that our neighbor down the street cannot find toilet paper.   We should give them one of our two 12 packs!"  What came up to the surface in me was not the spirit of giving.  What rose up in me was the spirit of hanging on to what we have....."just in case"........  Joel tabled his suggestion, hearing soon after my bad attitude response, that the neighbor had found a 4 pack somewhere out there.....It was not a shining moment for me and I pondered my response to Joel's suggestion more than once.  I shared the story with our son Matt and of course he surprised us with extra toilet paper when he came up, just in case someone else could not find it.  He knows his dad pretty well, and now Joel can share with others til' his heart's content.  Yeah.....like I said, it was not one of my shining moments.

So this weekend I listened to Harry Smith share some wise words.....his voice alone often brings down my stress level.  Something he said resonated with me, especially after the toilet paper story.  Basically he said we need to stop stockpiling toilet paper and sanitizer and stockpile instead patience and perseverance.  I love that!  No matter what we hear, no matter what we hope for, we are going to need patience and perseverance as we walk through this time in history.  And might I add, prayer!  The Covid-19 virus is not going away overnight.  Some states are jumping the gun in my way of thinking ~ Iowa included.  We never had a full shelter in place order and now with cases rising into the hundreds daily in our small state, the governor is loosening restrictions in most counties.  We continue to choose to shelter in place and are able to do so without worry to our finances, etc. We are trying to stay healthy.  But for most it is a stressful time for people.  The frustration is rising along with the fear.  Time will tell on whether letting people gather in groups now is a good thing. Time........patience and perseverance.  We also need to stockpile prayer along with that patience and perseverance.  Ann Voskamp spoke about living a life of prayer on Facebook.

"So let's believe.

Commit to more than a prayer life.

Make your life a prayer.

Make your work your worship, 

Make your days your doxology.

Make your life your liturgy

AND make Christ your only King."

Yes, along with patience and perseverance it is a good time to stock up on prayer.   The three P's.  Ann Voskamp's words are a good reminder as we live life in this season...........in any season!  Today Harry Smith and AnnVoskamp have filled my soul with what is good to stockpile....and that other stockpile of toilet paper?  If you run out, just give my hubby a call!