Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start.

For days now I’ve tried to write something profound or deeply revelatory.

All I seem to be able to muster up is these daily journal type posts.

It’s all I currently have, so I will continue until something new flows.

Day 5 was somewhat of an attempt at grabbing a slice of normalcy.

Although, that’s a challenge when National Guard and Miami Beach Police and even our school’s resource officer are at the major intersections directing traffic.

And Target has no running water, so there are porta potties stationed out front.

And destruction is every where you look.

And people are getting arrested at the gas station while you are filling your tank.

And there are emergency disaster aide trucks everywhere providing supplies and food.

And every cashier and fellow patron you meet has a story and is deeply thankful to be alive. There is a general feeling of gratitude for life in our city right now.

And Lastly, there are police, ambulance, and fire sirens all day and night.

But on this day 5, we were able to:

Have lunch at one of our favorite pizza shops with my sister.

Get gas easily. (This is huge.)

Aquire ice and all basic supplies without stress.

Send laundry with my two besties. I sorted through all the wet stinky laundry and tried to send the least smelly for them to do.

Take the kids to Target to pick out a few things to do. Addy got a lite bright! Nia got a barbie and the boys got Tek decks.

My home continues to be the gathering place for dinner and I find myself looking forward to seeing my friends and family each night to eat.

The superintendent spoke today and we have no projected open date.

Our county has a few schools that will need total restoration/rebuilding and many others need repairs.

How do we reopen without safe buildings and no electricity?

The days feel similar to Covid. Kids are home for an extended time with no return date given..Normalcy has been stripped away..and even the simplest activities have become a challenge..

And yet the gratitude is still there in huge measure. And the sorrow too. Each day new stories of loss rise to the surface, and some are so awful, they hit you right in the stomach. And stories of survival are being shared as well. People who were waist deep in water. A woman who held her cats up in two cat carriers above her head until rescue arrived.

My mom is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and she has been assigned to provide mental health checks and trauma counseling to 911 dispatchers and first responders. They have experienced overwhelming trauma over the past week, and many haven’t been able to really address their own needs yet. Their homes may have damage, some have lost their homes completely, and yet they’ve been showing up to serve others first.

Here are a few more pictures of our city that I’ve taken. This type of destruction is everywhere. No area seems to have escaped without damage.

This awful disaster has brought treasures amidst the pain as well. I believe I will post about those next. There is beauty rising out of the ashes.

Dear Heavenly Father,

In all things You are faithful. Even in loss, You are faithful. In tragedy, You are faithful. Even through death, we have life in Christ. Jesus You came and abolished the curse of death so that even the worst thing that could happen to us wouldn’t be the end, but a beginning of life eternal with You! Only a faithful, loving, ever merciful God could take what appears to be the final say, and make it a beginning! That’s who You are. Ever faithful in All things and through all things.

In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

Blessings and provision,

Vanessa Lynn

And if you came across this post and you haven’t yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, may I encourage you that by choosing Him you receive eternal life in heaven, BUT ALSO abundant life NOW. Following Him is the most precious adventure you have ever taken!! All you have to do to get started is to pray and receive Him as Lord. The Bible says to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and believe with your heart the precious gospel message that Jesus taught. Repent of your sins which means simply to ask Jesus to forgive you and then choose to walk away from them and go in the New Direction that God is calling you to. Confess or speak that you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for you, that He was resurrected from the dead, and ascended to heaven. And that you recieve Him as your Lord and Savior. That you are sorry for your sins and you recieve His FULL and complete forgiveness for every wrong you’ve ever committed. And that you are choosing to follow Him now and leave the ways of the world behind for the things of Jesus!!! And if you mean that with your heart, you are saved and set free to live a new life free of sin! The Bible says you are now a brand new creation! Old things have passed away and new things have come!!! The Bible also says that all of heaven rejoices whenever a person is saved!!!! Just imagine the party being held in heaven on your behalf right now!!