Marsh Periwinkles and Survival Skills

These snails are called Marsh Periwinkles. They are edible.

One good thing the empty shelves in the stores seem to have accomplished is to make people more aware of their need for survival skills. I am very thankful for the survival skills I have acquired since becoming an adult. We've tried to pass many of them down to our children and the young people in our ministry. Some pictures of these activities have been in the blog.

I don't eat snails. I'm a blue crab kind of girl. I would be thankful for periwinkles if I needed them, but thank the Lord, I do not need them. However, I know where they are and how to use them to take care of my family. Now, you know they are edible too!

I sought out basic survival knowledge decades ago, so I'd have it if I ever needed it. Knowledge of practical things is often looked down upon. "Why would someone in my position ever need to learn something like that?" Because everyone needs clean water, sustenance, and medicine. Those three things are essential to everyone's survival. 

If one doesn't know how to keep oneself alive, one can't keep anyone else alive either. Anyone who can't take care of themselves is a burden. We can't minister to others in bad situations if we do not have the skills to do so. People save money for hard times, but forget to gather knowledge for the same.

Today, I rejoice because I can enjoy the snails doing their thing and don't need to eat them. Down the road of life, I might rejoice that I know how to find them and use them for food.

The lowly ant, that God instructs us to learn from, knows what she can and can not eat in her surroundings. The knowledge of what we can eat around us gives us an extra measure of safety, which is a synonym for refuge, in very challenging times.

The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
Proverbs 27:12