This Is Not A Drill
For 38 minutes last week, the people of Hawaii thought the end had come.
A warning was issued that there was an incoming ballistic missile…and “this is not a drill”.
Thank God, it was a false alarm.
It did get me thinking however…
What would I do if I received such an alert?
The obvious answer was to pray, not to get right with God, but for peace and the ability to give it where needed.
I would gather my cats and try to gather the loved ones in one place …and prepare to meet the Lord together.
It was also a reminder that I might get called home without notice…and that what I was and how I am remembered could be finished already.
I pondered what my last words to the people I love and this community would be if I were suddenly gone without opportunity to speak again…
What would you do?
I appreciate your thoughts, Michael. With you, I would try to contact those I love with a message of gratefulness for their presence and activity in my life. Hope I would die singing a hymn in that moment.
Rick,
Thank you…that would be a good way to go.
It also struck me that if I’m not ready now, I won’t be then…
My family is all across the U.S.
So I would pray for courage, hug my husband, and email love letters to other family members.
And I would make sure my successor executor had my will, trust, and passwords.
Jane,
Good plan…I need to have that set up ASAP about the passwords…
I would pray that the internet would keep this site up…. Maybe change the name to In Case of Nuclear Disaster…. Just joking…
The stories being told make one pause… putting your darling children down a manhole into the sewers?
The thing that gives me pause is that I seem to see that God gives such things as this as a warning….?…..
A will etc. is sound thinking, I guess….
I wouldn’t worry about a will. All I have would be dust.
I would just hug my wife and kids. Maybe get up and over the mountain.
I would call my kids…. and get down on my knees.
The truth is, this could happen to any of us, at any time. Life is so fragile, yet in God’s capable hands..
I would freak the heck out, aside from that I like to think I would pet my dog and face the end gracefully with my wife… but I highly doubt I would be that put together
I could be wrong, but I think Eric’s answer is probably more like how it would be for many of us.
Again, I could be wrong, but somehow I don’t think an initial freak out at the thought of impending doom is wrong or unspiritual.
https://youtu.be/u4jIiSlWdKg Watch the World End
Just when I was praying for fire from heaven.
If I we at ground zero and knew death would be instant, then gather any loved ones and pray. It would be the next best thing to the rapture, yes? If it were near enough to miss, then start filling the tub and as many containers as possible with tap water (I have over a week’s supply of bottled water, living in earthquake country), then duct tape sealing doors then windows to protect from fallout. Praying while doing this of course. Unplug everything to protect from surges and EMP. Disconnect car battery if I had time. You could do a lot in 35 mins. Actually, flipping the master breaker makes the most sense as I think about it. Turn of cell phone, put in microwave or maybe in zip loc freezer bag and sink in into the toilet water. Have to research the best Faraday cage like protection.
Even though not in Hawaii, at first stunned, I went into planning mode waiting to hear if missle hit, knowing if strike successful then high probability the rest of nation/world could be next in minutes/hours. Would call/ text family then almost exactly same plan as NV in 12. Yep, earthquake preparedness translates pretty well into nuclear attack survival with a few tweaks.
Incredible relief when not real. But feel like I’ve been living in expectation of it all my life, being the AirForce brat of someone who spent the Cold War in missle silos and sent the family to secure place in the country during Bay of Pigs for a week or so. He went on alert before it hit the civilian press so we hard a head start though didn’t know why we were taking such a quick trip to the country.
Of course, whether I would really have the presence of mind to carry out my plan in reality, is a whole other discussion ?
Anyone know if Indie’s trick of jumping in a refrigerator works?
If I can offer a word of encouragement; I have been in several situations where I thought death was imminent (I was in a gas station explosion when I was 19). Both times a sense of profound peace flooded my soul. This is not due to any type of personal courage; fact is, I went through a season of panic attacks for a several year period as I entered middle age). My previous career involved working with many who were dying. As Corrie Ten Boom’s father told her–God gives you the ticket when it is time to board. I have had the privilege of seeing grace extended to the dying. It is the only confidence I have for the end–God promises His presence.
descended…hopefully we won’t have to find out anytime soon!
According to T.S. Eliot the world doesn’t end with a bang, it ends with a whimper.
I would panic at first….but be in prayer…try to get my daughter and her husband to us as soon as possible -they live in the city we in the country – i figure they are in more danger….
But would be praying -checking PP for the real news.
The new Victor, you have a good game plan in the works…..i would have to make a list to remember all that. Lol
Most people do not know that right after this event in the islands it happened again in Japan.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3885014/japan-north-korea-nuclear-missile-strike-warning-tv-broadcast/