Sunday night, May 31, 2020 is a night I will never forget.  

It was a beautiful and carefree summer evening. Our family was celebrating my son’s 12th birthday and we were having a small celebration with some good friends who live in our neighborhood.  The kids were enjoying what I call “old fashioned 80’s play” somewhere in our neighborhood (probably on bikes), while the parents enjoyed a glass of wine and grilled chicken in the back yard. The isolation, low-grade fear, and compartmentalized depression brought on by COVID19 seemed far away.

A little after dinner, I decided to quickly check my email and saw the following message from a member of our neighborhood HOA Board (of which I am a member):

Neighbors,

We were contacted this afternoon to ask the HOA Board to alert all residents of a credible threat of criminal activity in our neighborhood and surrounding region tonight.  Please take extra care and caution for you and your families and DIAL 911 in the event of any emergency.  (I have tweaked the email message for privacy purposes.)

What?  I scrolled through more of my emails and found this from our Alderman (city council woman), who also lives in our neighborhood:

There are several credible threats throughout this city tonight.   I am trying to be responsible and taking these threats seriously and warning my residents.   I apologize that I will not be responding to anymore emails as my phone is ringing off the hook and I have tons of people to contact.  

A feeling of low grade fear came into my stomach just then – and it reminded me of the the movie “The Purge.”  If you haven’t seen “The Purge,” here is the trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LLaybEuzA).  In a nutshell, it’s a movie about one designated 12-hour night where all crime is legal.  According to the movie, this one night of evil and violence is used for the good of society by bringing about low unemployment, safety, and security the rest of the year.  The movie follows one family as they hunker down in their home for the evening. 

As I was sitting in my back yard and feeling a little bit purge-like, my 16 year old daughter came home from riding her bike with all the other kids and said: “mom, we saw strange cars I’ve never seen before with people I’ve never seen, driving around our neighborhood. Is something happening?”

We took the party inside the house but we were all on edge.  The adults whipped out their phones, trying to get more information about what was going on near our hood.  It was then that I noticed a car just sitting in front of the house next door to us (which was vacant), as well as a police cruiser parked on the side of the road.

Just then my phone vibrated.  It was a text from a friend who lives fifteen minutes to the west of us.  The text said: “be careful – mobs heading your way tonight.”  

How did he even find out?  Word travels fast.

A little later we wrapped up the party and settled in for the night. My husband and I stayed up past midnight, just watching and waiting.  I found myself peeking outside, looking for anything strange or unusual.  I prayed for the safety of our home, neighborhood, and surrounding region.

Thankfully, there was no criminal activity that night in our neighborhood or the next, despite a city-wide 8 pm curfew the next evening.  However, there was criminal activity in our nearby small city.  Many businesses and properties were damaged or destroyed. 

A few weeks later, at our HOA meeting, I spoke to the husband of the Alderman who lives in our neighborhood and I asked him about the infamous night of May 31st.  This man is a slightly older guy and I didn’t immediately peg him to be up on popular culture, so I was frankly surprised when he turned to me and blurted out the following:

“You mean the night of The Purge?  Yes, there was a real and credible threat to our actual neighborhood.  My wife was targeted specifically.  We had two U.S. Marshalls guarding our neighborhood and our home.”

Wow!!  Later I learned that similar events were happening both locally and all over the country.

This leads me to the reason I am writing this post, which is a diversion from what I normally write about.

I believe there is a real possibility that ‘events’ could occur in the very near future, events which will be very difficult for us individually, as families, and as a country. I feel like I need to do my part to alert my readers to this very real possibility so that they can get ready in the way that works best for them.

These potential events include, but are not limited to, both man-made and naturally occurring events, such as the following: 

Civilian unrest that spreads to suburban or rural areas (my story, for example), violent protests over who wins/loses the election (or how long it takes to decide it – I am thinking of the 2000 Gore v Bush election and hanging chads but worse), a rapid rise in COVID cases and the after-effects for both the sick and the well, some sort of power struggle over the Presidency, or an EMP that wipes out society, to name a few man-made options. 

There are also naturally occurring phenomena such as an asteroid hitting the earth (see this link for one that NASA completely missed but came super close: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/asteroid-makes-the-closest-earth-flyby-a-space-rock-has-ever-survived/), earthquakes, volcanos, tsunamis, etc.

Thinking about the above makes me feel anxious. This is what I am doing about it:

Prayer:

This is the number one thing I have been doing with more intensity for several months now.  I am praying about our election, praying that the injustices against the black community will get corrected, praying that bad cops will be removed and good cops will be protected, praying that we will have unity as a country, and praying for protection for my family and friends.  I am praying for the end of COVID. I am praying for spiritual revival in America.  I am also praying that fear will not control me during this uncertain time and that I can be a light in the darkness.  I am praying against Satan and praying that I will keep in step with God and share His love with other people. 

If difficult things are ahead for our nation, I want to be a lifeline for those in need.  In order to be a lifeline for others, I need to get my own house in order.

Preparedness:

I am personally acting as though we will need to be (stuck) in our house for three months this coming fall or winter, and I am attempting to get as organized as possible in the event that this happens.  In addition to attempting to maintain three months of food in my home (easier said than done) and checking on our city water supply, I am stocking up on things like batteries, gasoline, fire wood, dehydrated food, powered milk, toilet paper, and the list goes on. We also ordered security cameras that we can easily monitor from our phones, ordered a deep freezer (which is constantly delayed), and ordered ahead on our child’s medication. A quick word on water: you can only live three days without water!  Although we have city water, we have a backpacking water pump and I just ordered Life Straws for the kids (you can find them on Amazon).  My husband periodically complains about the number of Life Straws that continue to arrive.  🙂

I try to do two things each day to get prepared.  As I sit here writing this post, I think of my precious kitty cat Quinny Chi, so I am remembering to stock up on her food. I am also experiencing severe dry eye right now, so I am thinking about eye drops and nighttime eye ointment.  I have two teenage girls (plus me!) who will need tampons and pads over a three month period as well (no pun intended).  

A few last points on preparedness.  First, it’s a a gradual process (in my view).  Just do a little bit each day.  Second, I am not very good at it! What I intend to store, we eat!  Batteries get used, toilet paper silently disappears, and medication runs out.  I just do the best I can.  Third, sometimes I grab extra things not for myself, but for some imaginary neighbor in need (in the future).  I want to love my neighbor in case bad things happen.  

Prophets:

I have been following a pastor out of Kentucky named Dana Coverstone, and I will post all four of his videos below.  He has been having dreams with a “prophetic tendency” which reveal that very difficult times are ahead for our country.  One of his prophetic dreams has come to fruition (at least for the months of March and June).  In the dreams, he sees a calendar that is slowly flipping pages, with a finger pointing to different months (specifically March, June, September, October (especially the 31st), November, and the winter months of 2021).  After the calendar flips to a certain month, he has disturbing visions about what may be ahead for our country, and the words “brace yourself” is what he has been hearing in his spirit for many months.  This pastor believes that these dreams are a warning from God of what may be ahead.  He then urges everyone to pray and get prepared.

I have no idea if what this pastor says will come true, and there is a very real possibility that he is not hearing correctly from God.  It is also possible that God, being very merciful, will respond to the prayers of His children and “change his mind” on the coming events displayed in these dreams.  However, it is also possible that God may be allowing difficult things to happen and attempting to warn us through this particular pastor.  To watch his first video, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnh5jV3nJyM.  God often allows difficult things in order to bring people to an awareness of their need for Him. God uses difficult things for our (eventual) good and for his glory (Romans 8:28).

Peace:

While personal preparedness and prayer are certainly helpful, at the end of the day my peace comes from my own, very real relationship with God the Father.  He is in control of my life and the lives of my family members (and friends).  I know where I am going if and when I die, and I can trust in Him because, by nature, God is good.  I want to have peace so I can be a light for my family and to help those in need.  If I let fear rule over me, I am no longer acting in faith and will be less helpful to myself, my family, and others in need.

Dear Reader, if you do not have a relationship with God, consider turning to Him during this uncertain time.  God loves you! If you turn from your sins, Jesus will forgive you and the Holy Spirit will come and live within you.  Jesus will help you, guide you, and give you peace. If things get crazy, He will be with you and give you the grace and resources you need to navigate whatever is to come!

In closing, I hesitated to write this post for many reasons.  I fear being wrong and I fear being trolled for the way I worded this post. But even if nothing happens and we all go back to our normal lives soon, I still believe that preparedness, prayer, and a deep peace stemming from a God who is in control and loves us very much is not such a bad thing!  

“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”  Proverbs 22:3 NLT

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27

Here is Pastor Dana Coverstone’s first video from June:

The video for October and then for December 2020: