By Lynn Gendusa
Former Troup County resident living in Roswell

By the time you read this, Christmas will be over, and a decade will be ending. I am usually left with a bit of melancholy after the ornaments are packed away, and my children return to their homes. The warmth of December’s merriment solemnly fads into the dawn of January cold.

I think many of us face 2020 with a bit of trepidation. The political rancor will reach such heights it might rival Vesuvius raining fire on Pompeii, reducing all it’s citizens to ashes. By November, if we are not covered in soot, we will celebrate a very thankful Thanksgiving.

After much thought as to my column’s message so soon after a joyous holiday, I have found the cure for the January blahs, Washington’s many eruptions, and other human maladies. Let’s not pack up December but carry it with us throughout the new year! It is the only way we are going to survive.

Christmas celebrates the birth of the Prince of Peace. Christ taught us the way to courage, gentleness, goodness, and hopefulness. He encouraged us to stand for what is right and not be afraid. He wanted our earthly existence to glorify and exemplify God.

There is much every person can do to create a better environment for not only our country but our world. When we activate our spirit to join what is righteous and godly, we light the path for our children who will inherit this good earth.

Become the initiator.

How many of you have a dream you never fulfilled? Do you have a plan? If so, what is stopping you? It is incredible how many cures, new inventions, famous words, beautiful art, and ideas have come from those who decided to replace a dream with reality. Every single day we can initiate kindness and alleviate pain. We can end negativity and divisiveness if we take the power of the Prince of Peace with us wherever we go.

We can reduce hatred, see a decrease in suicides, stop the bullying, and the mean spirited if we live by the teachings God sent through His son 2019 years ago. Our ability to initiate change comes through the December child who brought hope and mercy to the earth. And, folks, he can do it again if we help him.

So, we can pack away the Christmas décor, and we can turn off the lights illuminating our trees, but the light in our hearts should never be dimmed.

Let’s face the dawn of the new decade with hope, with power, with humility and with the belief that a great God can and will show us the way.

Become an initiator, and you might just light up the world.

Happy New Year to all and may the dawn of a new decade begin with your smile.