What is left in the wake of these violent fits of Mother Nature can hardly be described adequately with words. It can be heart wrenching to look at the damage raging flood waters can leave behind when they have receded.



There are always so many pictures that inundate the media sources of the damage to the building structures and the damage to the land and its beauty. We see all the victims sifting through what is left of their homes and the life that they lived there and so many times there is simply nothing left to sift through.

Homes have been completely washed away and often loved ones were swept away with them. How can anyone not affected by this possibly begin to understand what it must be like?

For those that were lucky enough to have insurance coverage for flooding, at least they could repair or rebuild their homes and replace the things that are necessary to furnish them. For those who had no insurance to help them, well, it was only a tragedy on top of a tragedy.

To be homeless, living in shelters, penniless and relying on the help of strangers, who no matter how hard they tried or how much they gave, probably could not possibly really feel the utter helplessness that so many had to endure for weeks and months.

With the passing years most of those that were so severely touched by these disasters have already begun new lives. The trials and problems they faced seemingly unending for them. Many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina were distributed to other states that had help to offer them.

Many of the refugees chose to begin their new lives there. New homes, new jobs, new schools, and new churches, and even though they have a new beginning, for so many it still does not replace what they lost, nor does it erase the loss of loved ones or the utter despair they had to face.

Material things can always be replaced and the land usually eventually recovers. For the people whose lives that were forever changed, there were multitudes of caring individuals who were there to give them a hand and help them take a new place in society.

Mother Nature can take away a lot of things, but she has yet been unable to destroy the will to survive in the human spirit and its desire to help each other in times of crisis.