My soul just aches, frequently it seems these days, as the unthinkable keeps seeming to happen. I don’t understand what is going on. The world seems alien and unsafe. People, even young people, appear to have lost their sense of humanity and commit heinous crimes. You all know what I am describing. We seek for understanding. We want to find someway to control the situation. We want to find the cause, so that we can stop it from happening again. None of us have any real answers. At least, we have no answers that would have the power to stop this craziness.

This blog unfortunately isn’t going to be answering those questions. Instead, I want to explore what options we do have. We can let ourselves get snowed under and start to feel like nowhere is safe. It can be paralyzing. We might never leave our homes and start living life as Bob did in the movie, “What About Bob”. We can ignore what has been happening and simply think, “This only happens to others, or in other places.” We could also prepare. We can continue to live our life, going to work, meeting with friends, caring for our families, feeling prepared rather than afraid.

For me, this last option is the only one that makes sense. I personally can’t cause people to live life according to my hopes, beliefs, or standards. I can’t personally heal all those who hurt, even if I want to. I can, however, try my best to learn what to do in emergency situations. I can consider some of the worst case scenarios and learn how to avoid them if possible, or deal with them as necessary.

What choice will you make? Trouble in life can come in many forms. It isn’t even usually from some serious outside threat. It is more often found in the daily struggles we face with health, financial difficulties, and relationships. No matter the trouble, we always have a choice on how to face it. Will we hide? Will we ignore the problems? Or, will we prepare even if it is uncomfortable and difficult?