February 13, 2008: Round Knob, Illinois – Ice Damage & The Comer Story

  Don’t ever try to tell me there are no modern day miracles…or that God doesn’t answer prayers…I spotted Billy in the mid 60’s and used prayer to ‘snag’ him..when he didn’t even know I existed. But that’s another story for another time.  🙂 

  Let me tell you about my ice sorm miracle. Our power went out last Monday evening…just like everyone else’s in Massac, Pope, and Johnson Counties.  We were without power & heat  until Saturday at noon.  We have A fireplace, so we cooked in it…made coffee in it…and
slept in front of it.  So compared to many, we were already blessed. We have cell phones,
but they’re Tracfones and maybe the battery power doesn’t last as long in them as others,
I don’t know.  But I Tx’d with Kim all night Monday night & by Tuesday morning…both our
cell phones were dead also. (dumb I know…but I didn’t think at the time we were in for a
long haul.)

  Tuesday morning…when daylight came…we were totally isolated from the outside world.
Our road…which most of you know is a long winding private lane…was totally under
brush, trees and one major tree was across what the kids named Copperhead Crossing decades ago. 
We had no way out…everything was ice covered, making it almost impossible to even walk. 
Trees and limbs were still falling from the weight of the ice. Billy made me stay inside
‘because’ trees and limbs were still falling and we had power lines down, but he went out to
start trying to ‘dig us out’. I sat in the door with the inside door open…and looking out the
glass storm door so I could see him and know that ‘he’ was ok.

  Wednesday morning started out the same way…but I was really getting antsy because
we were not able to contact the kids and check on them…as Billy was back up on the
road Wednesday morning…continuing his ‘dig out’…I was sitting back inside the glass door,
with a quilt over my lap, watching him and worrying about the kids.  So I said, "God, you know
I’m not a person that needs to be pampered.  I don’t need the power back on…I don’t need the
tv…I don’t need the heat…but I really, really need to make contact with our kids, so will
you ‘please’ give me a way to know they’re ok."  It was a short prayer…but from the heart…and
I felt at peace…because I really have tons of faith…and expected ‘something’ from God…I
just didn’t know what.

  About 15 or 20 minutes later…I heard the sound of a cell phone coming on behind
me on the coffee table.  Ours give a little ‘fairy tale’ noise when it comes on. I
just put the quilt on the floor, said, "Thank you Lord"…and walked over to the phone
and picked it up…not even especially surprised that it had happened. I picked it up
and it was black…but I just dialed Kim’s number…she answered and I said, "Kim,
shut up and listen…I’m talking to you on a totally dead cell phone…there is no
signal…no bars…God made this call for me and I have no idea how long he will let
me talk" I told her we were ok but stranded until dad could get us out and
asked her About her, her brothers and the rest of the family…she quickly filled
me in…I was hesitant to hang up because I didn’t know when I would be able to talk to
her or any of the kids again….but we hung up and the phone dial was Still black…I layed it
back on the table…thanked the Lord again for letting me make the call…and went out to tell Billy.

  Shortly after noon…Kim and Kevin came walking in from the top of the hill…And they had
brought us a phone charger that you plug into the car to charge your phone…we didn’t
even know they existed for tracfones or we would have Already had one. But that’s just one
example of what God can and will do.

  I’m sure many people look back on last week and think…’what a nightmare’.
And to some extent … It was…but thank the good Lord…Billy and I were able to
Make our storm week…kind of an adventure.  In the evening when it was too dark to
work…and there was no TV , etc…we told stories, listened to the scanner And just made
the best of what we had. We had to stay awake most of the night every night to keep the
fireplace going…because it was just too bitter cold to let It go out…but we took turns with that.

  So that’s my ice storm miracle story.  I absolutely believe in miracles…I hope
you Do too!  Because miracles only happen for those who believe!

  So for now…forget forwarding stories about the "One eyed, one horned,Flying purple people
eater"or the "Grasshopper that ate New York" and think about forwarding this
story about a modern day miracle

  To use a well known phrase of Sue’s…"Praise God For Whom All Blessings Flow"

– Kay Comer, February 17, 2008