A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


July 17, 2012

A Day Without Water ....

     I know we've all imagined what it could be like when TEOTWAWKI becomes our "new reality".  We've planned, in our heads, how we would get along without all the modern conveniences and trappings of society.  Well, a few days ago, PLW and I got the chance to experience a small slice of what that new existence might be like.
     As many of you know, when you live in the country, you can be assailed by all kinds of pests and plagues.  Our foremost nemesis are gophers!  Just like Carl Spackler in "Caddyshack",  PLW can be found setting his traps and sneaking up on them in his best Bill Murray imitation.  But this time, the gopher won!
     When we moved onto our little piece of property four years ago, we were blessed to receive the land and improvements.  Apparently, there had been a temporary home on the property at one time, so with minor upgrades, we were set to go.  We trenched new electric lines from the pole to the house we built, but since the water well was functional, we didn't have to make any changes there.
     And that's where the gopher outwitted us.  The previous owners of the property, as so many landowners do, just dug the trench from the meter loop at the pole, to the electrical box on the water pump, and just laid the electrical wire in the ground and buried it without conduit .... nothing inherently wrong with this method; it can last up to 20 years like that.  Unless Mr. Gopher decides he's going to chew through the insulation on the wire.  
     Who knows how long it's been like that?  We've been so dry and subject to a drought; but as soon as we started getting our tropical rain this week, the wire shorted out.  One minute we had water.  The next, we didn't.
     I have to admit that with my current mindset, I didn't panic as I might have several years ago.  I guess I've been a "survivor-in-waiting".  And I say "I", because everyone knows that women don't usually respond to these kinds of situations as calmly as men do.  PLW reacted as he always does; he's a man, and men fix things.  But this was a little present from God to me.  It was another of His teaching moments.  And this is how I responded:  I immediately started assessing how this was going to effect us.  The first thought was .... the toilets.  I could manage without water for the dishwasher or washing machine for a few days, and we had bottled water to brush our teeth.  I was immediately thankful that we had purchased our hand pump!  I knew that all we had to do was pump buckets of water for all of our needs.
     We could pour buckets of water through our AquaRain water filter and have drinking water; we could pour a bucket of water into the toilet tank and have bathroom facilities; we could heat water on the stove for baths, washing dishes and even clothes, if we had to.  Bottom line:  with our hand pump, we were only slightly inconvenienced.  And I have to tell you a few years ago, I would have been overcome with a sense of panic.  I would have been fully ensconced in my "normalcy bias", unable to comprehend how to get through any kind of breakdown or collapse of my modern lifestyle.
     I was surprised at how quickly I shifted into "prepper" mode, and started evaluating our living situation in a different light.  In the past, I would have dreaded dealing with all the consequences of such a failure of services.  But I found it stimulating to figure out how to adapt familiar practices, and I actually felt grateful for the opportunity to evaluate if we are properly prepared, and where we still lack solutions.
     We were fortunate.  It only cost us the price of a spool of 12-guage electrical wire to get us up and running.  This next week, after the ground dries out, PLW will trench a new line, encapsulate the wire in conduit (to better confound Mr. Gopher!), and bury it anew.
     Granted, if it had been the water pump itself, we would have suffered a greater financial loss.  But we still would have gained much more than it cost us.  Because I realized that even without the water pump, we would still have access to water with our hand pump.
     The only way we will ever be without water is if the water level drops below our simple pump, and more tubing will solve that problem.  While the drought is far from over, receiving over 6 inches of rain this week, has been a further blessing.
     So now I think God gave us this little trial, so we could test ourselves and see, not only how we would respond, but where we are on our scale of "preparedness".  I am happy to know that we passed this "easy" test, and instead of bemoaning the inconvenience and the disruption to my orderly life, I accepted the challenge and saw the situation as a learning experience.  I know that this is just a dress rehearsal, and the future that awaits us will demand more of me.  But I think I'm up to the challenge; because I no longer have any expectation of "normal" in its old terms.  I've taken one more step towards acceptance of the inevitable.

James 1:3-5      ".... because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for taking some time to write this post. When you take a journey in the wilderness with your friends, you may find it fun, exciting, and adventurous which is normal, but if you get lost, the situation changes completely. There are wild animals that could harm you, weather changes that might make you sick, and other unpleasant incidents that can happen. See more http://survival-mastery.com/basics/water-survival.html

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