Last weekend we made a quick trip down to Gulfport, MS to see our daughter Janelle, son-in-law Chris and two precious grandsons, Zach and Nathan. I'll post more about them later, but for now I wanted to share some sights and observations about the changes in the Gulf coast since we were last there in March 2006.

As we drove into town on Highway 49 south, we were elated at what we saw....there was very little evidence of Katrina's destruction...everything looked new and clean. On Saturday, we played "tourist", and drove across Highway 90 from Gulfport to Biloxi....and everywhere we looked there were signs of growth and rebuilding....Highway 90 was finally complete...the boardwalk was being finished...they were even planting sea grass! AND there were quite a few people on the beach (even tho' it was a cool, windy day).

And the cleanup and construction continue......There were still huge piles of rubble, buildings that looked they had been bombed out, empty lots where majestic homes once stood.....the landscape has been totally rearranged in many ways. (Click on the photo badge on the left to see more.)

One of the purposes of making the drive was to see the sculptures that are being fashioned out of the remains of some of the very old live oak trees that lined this section of the highway....it is an ongoing process....but a definite symbol of revitalization...for out of destruction, something beautiful is being created.

Not quite beauty out of ashes, but close....beauty out of rubble! Sounds a lot like white Christ does with our lives, doesn't it!