PROVISION 

Proverbs 31:13-15, 
"She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant's ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plans the day's work for her servant girls."

Dad's cucumbers between city houses.

Cabbages and broccoli too.

Dad's Tomatoes produced 180 quarts of canned tomatoes. This is from his small city lot.

Dad working in his back yard garden.

Preparedness, sometimes called stocking up. 

It is so much more than that. At any given time, my parents and grandparents had at least three years of provision. My father often says that you may never know what a year may bring. This ranges from day to day societal changes to the fact that we may have a year of drought, too much rain, or a huge pest problem and you will not be able to pull in a good harvest for example loss of a job or income and not have enough to buy food. 

When I talk with my parents, I ask them about their day and I am always interested in what my mother is fixing for dinner. She is a wonderful cook and I can always glean from her wisdom. She tells me of how she goes to her freezer or her pantry and fixes wonderful dishes from what they have gathered. She will say things like, "I only put up 72 quarts of tomatoes this year. I would have liked to put at least up 100 but I should be okay because Dad and I are still eating from '09 tomatoes."

It still amazes me at how prepared they are and they can truly laugh without concern because they are prepared.

My parents live in a small city lot and they garden intensely. They make their own bread and go to Sam's (a "big box store") twice a year. They are in their 80's and they are healthy and get out to garden every day. They didn't always live like this but the wisdom from the past won out in their lives and made their later years filled with joy and peace. 

Yahweh has blessed them and as my mothers says, "We will not go hungry."

Now, you may not be the one to garden or even have the place to grow your own food but you can still be prepared. I like to think of it has having my own mini store. It is a good feeling to have food and supplies at hand when a season hits and we can't get to what we need. I believe that my father's words should be a mantra, "We never know what a year may bring," 

If we have the basics: food, water, and general supplies then we will have a sense of some security. I will be having weekly podcast on this topic and have some folks with experience in this area to inspire us with their wisdom so we can grow in this area and be prepared.

D'vorah