THE DILEMMA

by Danna Shirley
Writing assignment: what if all modern services were cut off?
Dear Diary ~ June 19, 2018

The power has been off two weeks now and everyone is in a panic, not only because we have no power, but because we have no services at all. Everything is at a standstill…all over the world. Help is not coming; everyone is looking for their own help.

·        There is no communication with the outside world to find out what is happening. No television, telephones, newspapers, internet; not even carrier pigeons.

·        No water because the pumping stations can’t purify it and get it through the pipes to our homes. No bathing, clean clothes, or drinking water. No flushing toilets. Egad!

·        No fuel for our cars because the gas stations can’t operate the pumps and the tanker trucks can’t resupply the gas stations.

·        The grocery and Wal Mart shelves are empty because everything was bought and nothing is being delivered with any hope of restocking.

·        No food because nothing is being planted or harvested without farm machinery, much less being able to take it to the stores.

·        The banks are closed; no ATM, no cash withdrawal because they can’t determine account balances.

There is no way to, or reason for, Dad to go to work. He is just staying home trying to figure out how we can survive from day to day, doing his best to keep us all together without fighting and giving up, which is hard because it’s sweltering 90 degrees today and Tina keeps complaining she can’t wash her hair. OMG, hair is her last worry. Jeff can’t play video games and just sulks that there’s nothing to do.  

Yes, there is! He can carry water from the lake two blocks away so Mom can boil it on the grill. Dad even chopped down one of our trees for firewood. All the neighbors are doing the same. I wonder how long we’ll last when we run out of trees and lake water?

Dad grilled all the thawed-out food we had and then took some steaks and pork chops to the neighbors. No way to preserve it anyway. We’ve been using paper plates and plastic because we don’t want to waste water washing dishes. What will we do when they run out?

We still have our bikes for transportation but we have to watch for anyone lurking around trying to steal them from us. Crime and looting are common. We can’t even dial 9-1-1 to call the police. They couldn’t come anyway except on a bicycle and by then the culprits would already be gone. 

Even with all the stuff we DON’T have, we DO have what we don’t want—garbage; packages from thawed out meat, empty cans from the pantry after eating them, moldy and spoiled food…and the garbage trucks can’t come around to take it away. Garbage is overflowing the cans and piling up on the streets and sidewalks. The stench is becoming unbearable and the animals are rooting in it for their own food and scattering it all over.

We have reverted to Little House on the Prairie times except none of us have 40 acres to plant our own food, or a horse to plow the field, or a well to draw up water, or an outhouse that is 50 feet away so the flies won’t swarm in the door. EGAD, I just had a thought. What will we do when the toilet paper runs out! No wonder people had such poor hygiene and teeth back then.

Oh no, here I am only thinking of myself. Janet’s grandmother is in the hospital and was supposed to have surgery last week. What are the hospitals doing? They have to be so sanitary. What are they doing for patients who need medications and surgeries? And I’m sure doctors and nurses want to be home with their own families.

Could this be the end times that the Bible tells us about? I don’t want my family to be hoarders when God has always told us to do good, to be generous, and to share with those who have nothing. (Heb 13:16, 1 Tim 6:18, Luke 3:11)

The first scripture I ever learned was Luke 6:38…“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Okay, Lord, I’ll tell Dad so we can pray about how to live out God’s Word in conditions like this.

Dear Diary ~ June 20, 2018

Jeff went down to the lake for water this morning and some bullies stole his bike and the bucket he was carrying. He tried to fight back but he came home bloody with a gash on his face.

What now?