Editor, Commonwealth:
I want to wish everyone who lives in Greenwood and beyond a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
This holiday I want us all to be thankful to have family with us and you can see them. To me this holiday season is about the birth of Christ and about family. It not about the gifts or the meals we will have on that day. It’s about family.
Having lived in Greenwood going on 15 years now, I have learned that I don’t have to be kin to be called “family.” Life is about the times you spend with the people you love. And holidays such as Christmas are a good time for family to come together, eat and enjoy each other.
And we should not forget about the ones who are homeless and fighting for our country. I know how it feels to be standing alone, without a family member, a friend or a home to call my own. Now I feel blessed to have a home, food and a support team that helps me when I feel alone. It’s a blessing from God to have people who care about you, to show you love and show you that you matter to them.
I want the people here in Greenwood to know that I love you all and that you all matter to me. This holiday season is about being a blessing to each other as you all are a blessing to me. I see a lot of love and hope this holiday season. I’m thankful for the many blessings I have and the blessings that this holiday season have been for us all. But most of all, I’m grateful for I have my good health back again.
I want us all to sit and think about how blessed we have it and how God got all of us through the hard times this year; to pray for people who lost hope and faith this holiday season; and to remember the ones we lost this year.
Let’s help those who are struggling to be in the holiday cheer by letting them know that they are not alone, that they matter to you and that God loves them, too.
So Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year.
I can’t wait for the blessings that the new year will bring to us all.
Raymon M. Johnson III
Greenwood
