Dad taught me always to carry a spare tire and jack in the car's trunk. That served me well until I found someone with a flat one day, and my tire iron didn't match their lug nuts. That's when I started carrying a four-way. Then I found someone with an easily fixed tire puncture, and that's when I started carrying a patch kit. Then I started carrying a tire pump. And then . . .

Be Prepared. That's not just a lesson for Boy Scouts; it serves us all well to be ready for whatever the world throws in our direction. I hear something of that in Peter's call to be prepared to give a reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15). Too often, it's easy to tell people what frightens us and causes us to lose sleep. Are we prepared to share our hope over our fears, though?