Discerning observers of the ongoing turbulence around the globe are expressing increasing unease as they attempt to understand what is coming. My friend Aaron is one of those convinced the future is murky, dark, and dangerous. Certainly the covid scare and predictions there is more to come is reason to feel jittery. Putin’s war in Ukraine is another of the myriad issues sending tremors to all corners of the globe. Add to these floods and droughts, and it’s not surprising that there is a growing sense we are being held hostage by environmental disasters, health issues, faltering economies, a grasping for power and wealth by politicians, and more.

Because Canada has enjoyed such a largely uninterrupted run of peace and prosperity, many of us are inclined to shrug off warnings of impending disaster. We hope the harbingers of doom are mere conspiracy theories, disinformation, or the concoctions of foolish minds.

But Aaron and and others with similar views and concerns insist a deluge of fateful events is about to overtake us. “When people are overly focused on their personal issues,” Aaron said, “they aren’t aware of storm clouds hovering just over the horizon. They may be acutely aware that the cost of their mortgage is spiralling upward and petrol, groceries and heating fuel prices are squeezing us more and more. Maybe they hope that by ignoring the increasingly ominous signs, they will escape the negative impact of what is coming.”

The Biblical account of Noah predicting a world flood is an early example of complacency. People indolently watched Noah building his famous ark day after day, not realizing they would one day bitterly regret their apathy and ridicule of Noah. Even if this account seems a stretch to some, we can learn from it.

According to Jared Diamond in “Collapse”, disaster may advance upon a society surreptitiously and unobserved. He suggests the people of Easter Island didn’t understand the disastrous ramifications that would flow from their denuding the island of trees.

Unless we experience a calamitous event personally, we tend to carry on as usual. I wonder if we have become so comfortable with our cozy existence, so complacent, we are unable to understand that we are beset by danger. And we may not know how to respond wisely when calamity overtakes us.

For at least the past year some alternative media have sounded the alarm about a looming global economic, environmental and political crises. Recently an American financial expert wrote an article entitled, “Should you Move your Money by September 21?” He suggested the U.S. government is preparing legislation that will enable it to seize the savings of many Americans. He reminded readers that in 2013 the government of Cyprus skimmed funds from the savings accounts of its people. To this time not all the gloomy predictions have come to pass, but significant upheavals in various places suggest all is not well and we need to prepare as best we can for an uncertain future.

Unlike Noah, I don’t know precisely what is coming, and like our politicians, I cannot offer an all-encompassing response. I do believe though that at the personal and neighborhood level, we need to think seriously about how we can undergird each other in scarce times. With grocery prices already making some foods out of reach for people with meagre incomes, the time has come when talk and good intentions are not adequate.

My friend David has impacted my thinking in this regard. He lives on a couple of acres on Old Hedley Road and each spring he plants an enormous garden. On Sunday mornings he brings vegetables and baking to the little church in Hedley. At times others follow his example, bringing fruit, vegetables and baking. Much of this food is consumed during the fellowship time after the service. Everything left over is given to anyone who wants it. We leave feeling we are part of a family that, when adversity strikes, will pull together and gladly share resources. The time may be coming when more of us need to follow David’s example of giving to our neighbors.