the debris the storm left behind.

We will restore.

We will recover.

We will reclaim.

We will rebuild.

We are Jersey Strong.

Are the signs that we saw as we drove into Atlantic City.

I had seen images on the computer the day after the super storm, and looking at them was so surreal...until I saw them in person.

This past Tuesday we went by the neighborhood where members of our church helped clean up a couple of weeks ago. They live so close near the shore that their homes got flooded which caused them to get rid of their home goods. Looking at all the stuff that was ruined by water on the side of the sidewalk was disturbing. It makes me wonder if they have a bed to sleep on, chairs to sit, or a table to eat.

It seems as if so many houses got rid of their cupboard cabinets, and paneling.

I even saw this stuffed animal hanging on a sign on the side of a sidewalk. It makes me wonder what small child (or grown up) owned it knowing that they couldn't salvage it.

There was so, so much sand that was pushed by the waves. It literally pushed it all the way up to the street, and flooded some of the nicest homes in Margate.

As I walked up the stairs I saw the ocean, and the beach was empty. I didn't see a single soul. 

As we walked further down the shore we saw "earth movers". They were putting all the sand that had drifted onto the streets back into the shore. 

 

I was so happy to have seen that my favorite historical sight...Lucy the Elephant survived Sandy. She just had a lot of sand surrounding her. 

We also saw this Kayak stuck in the hard sand. I'm not sure if it was something that just drifted from the ocean. Hopefully nobody was occupying it while the storm hit! 

It was so nice to have gone to the shore on this cold, wet day. It's so peaceful, and to hear the waves crashing was so relaxing.

I continue to pray for those who lost so much. When I endured hurricanes I was young & resilient, and can never imagine being in their shoes at this particular time with a family.

Driving through the city, & looking at all that was destroyed was pretty emotional for me, but one thing I felt as I was leaving is that this city is Jersey strong.