What happened to normal?

You see it on TV. You hear about it on the news. But until you've been through it, it's hard to imagine. Here we are over 2 months after Hurricane Katrina came through, and not much has changed since.

I am so sorry to talk about this again, but the remnants of Katrina are still very much here. Life is STILL not back to normal. We are still not getting our mail on time. I just received a letter yesterday that was postmarked the day of Katrina, August 29th. Stores are still only open until about 7:00. Debris is still found along our streets. My parents drove through New Orleans last weekend on their way to Tennessee to see my grandmother. If you have ever been to New Orleans, you know it is a very busy city, full of lights at night. My parents drove by after dark and it looked like a ghost town from the interstate. My dad said that he saw maybe 2 homes with lights inside, and even those were candlelit. The debris is incomprehensible out there. My mom's friend and daughter live in a devestated area near New Orleans, and have been missing since the storm. My parents drove by her house and it was just surreal. There were markings on the garage door indicating that the house had been searched but no bodies had been found inside. Her door was busted in. Mom found her name on the Red Cross site a couple of days ago and she is okay. It just blows me away that we are STILL looking for people. So many bodies are unidentified. I have finally come to understand that the rebuilding process in our area will take years. I don't know if New Orleans will EVER be the same. Yes, it was a sinful city in many respects, but also a beautiful city rich in history and culture. I grew up here, about 30 miles south of New Orleans. Everthing I've ever known is different now. I can't explain it. It just doesn't feel like home anymore.

On the other hand, I know that my God is VERY REAL and He still resides in the city of New Orleans. I also know that His grace is sufficient to cover ALL of my needs. Even though the news is probably not talking about Louisiana anymore, please continue to lift our area up in prayer. Things are FAR from over here, and it will be a long time until things are "normal" again - whatever THAT is! :)