Beneath the Ice

      As a write today, the world looks different than it did just a week ago.  The area that I live in has been struck with a traumatic ice storm that has shut our entire region down in Northern Lower Michigan. The storm started last Friday and carried through the entire weekend, leaving behind ¾” to 1” of ice hanging on all the tree branches.  Northern Lower Michigan is known for it’s beauty and all the trees that abound here. 

     The weight of the ice caused branches to bend and break, as well as entire tree trunks - some snapping off on houses, cars, and businesses.  

     As this happened,  the weight of the ice ripped power lines down from their poles,  leaving them laying flat across roads. The poles that held the lines often snapped, and power outages occurred across the entire ten county region.   

    As Michigan is still in that transition time between winter and early spring, the temps have been fluctuating between the mid 40s down to the teens at night.  During this stretch of the storm, it has been colder in the day - only reaching 34 - 36 degrees.  It’s still just cold!

     This has left many people scrambling.  Not having heat or accessibility to water  without power creates incredibly difficult conditions to try to live in. Shelters started popping up at churches and township halls, but many are concerned about their houses and pipes freezing, so they are hesitant to leave their homes.  A few days of constant cold in the house without heat and  water starts to wear on a person.  

      In the meantime, Michigan’s governor declared a State of Emergency for the area to help get in manpower and supplies.

       All businesses were closed down for several days, so even if you owned a generator, you needed gas to run it. Without the gas stations up and running, even those with the back-up generators found themselves in a predicament. 

      The National Guard started to roll into the area, as did the state of Michigan’s DNR firefighers and other public servants.  For most of them, their sole focus has been to get out onto the roads, simply cutting down trees that are hung up on power lines or are impeading travel.  

      A friend of ours runs a dairy farm, and to keep their operations open for the truck to get in and collect the milk, they used their tractors with front end loaders to move over 200 trees out of the roadway - and that’s just one road and one story. 

      Yesterday, the fifth day into this  power outage, some areas started to have power restored.  We decided to head into town to restock up on a few items as a couple of grocery stores were able to reopen with generators, and we also had to take care of some work related issues.  Just to get out our driveway  took us fifteen minutes.  I held up tree tops that were bent over with a rake while Jen drove through underneath.  It was quite a process!  

     In town, I wanted to get some extra gas stored up, so I waited at a station that had lengthy lines going to every pump.  As I finally got to my pump, the gentleman on the other side was having problems getting the pump to work.  Eventually, he got frustrated, pounded on the pump, sharing expletives with anyone who was willing to listen, and ultimately peeled out of the gas station.  The next vehicle pulled in, and the pump worked just fine.

     People are simply feeling the pressure of what’s been happening.  I have no idea what that gentleman’s story is or what is living conditions are. Maybe he has a wife and a baby at home that he’s trying to take care of. Maybe he has elderly parents he was trying to get gas for, so that they could run a generator.  Maybe he’s financially strapped, and this situation is pushing him to his limits.  

    While I was also at the gas station, an elderly man was about to pull out, because he  had cash, and the pumps were only using cards.  Instead of letting him pull out with no gas, someone else paid for his gas with their card, and he paid them to do this with his cash.  Within five minutes, complete opposite reactions occurred to the ever present frustrations that have been mounting.

     Jen and I took a drive around our area, and the devastation simply became more real.  Powerlines are still laying across roads; many many power poles have snapped in half; and trees are still  laying across roads… this was 5 days after initial impact. 

     The area where I hunt was hit hard. The trails I normally drive my truck in on are completely filled in with snapped off trees or ones that are completely bent in half.  We tried walking the property, and that was cumbersome as every other step found us stepping over a downed tree or through limbs that filled our vision. I honestly can’t imagine the number of hours that it’s going to take to reestablish my trails there.

     As we drove back home, it was more of the same - everywhere you looked.

     The unfortunate part is that there is a round two today of weather. As if the area hasn’t had enough, today’s forecast includes 3-5” of snow; more freezing rain to follow;  and capping it off with thunderstorms tonight. 

     My specific area won’t have power by this weekend, and they are saying it could be another week or so before it’s restored. 

     In the middle of all this calamity though, I find myself feeling a sense of peace.

      I am truly thankful! 

     We have a wood stove for heat; we have access to water, and we have food.  We have had friends reaching out to check in on us and offering their help - as simple as a house to take a shower in.  

     Our lives have been disrupted, for sure, but I am reminded that in all things God is good.  He has a plan for each of us. We may not always be able to see it or feel it, but by faith, we can walk in hope.  

     This is a time where we need to offer grace to each other, as we don’t know the level of hardship others are experiencing.  It’s also a time to reach out to others to see if they need a helping hand.  

      As Believers, there is such a level of comfort knowing that God cares for us. 

     We all want to have some level of control or power in what happens in our lives, but I can honestly say that I am thankful that God has reminded to be thankful for the littlest of things in life. 

      All our possessions can all be taken away from us, but that’s not true for the love of God. He will love us at all times in all circumstances….and for that, I am grateful!  Sometimes, we just need a little reminder that this is true.

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. "