WASHINGTON   –  “I’m counting blessings this Christmas season, and I know every other family in Southern Missouri is gathering around their holiday table with loved ones to do the

same.

I consider myself particularly fortunate this year because I have met so many Missourians who are blessings to their communities, their families and their nation. 

It’s a humbling reminder that we live in a state and a part of the country where Americans routinely put other people ahead of themselves. 

In faith-based and veterans service organizations throughout the region, we, our friends and our neighbors are donating our time, talent and treasure to the

betterment of our communities and the lives of the people who live in them. 

Earlier this month, I attended a Wreaths Across America ceremony at the Bloomfield Veterans Cemetery.  Thanks to generous donations, a wreath was laid on

every grave marker in the cemetery.  Hundreds of citizens turned out to pay their respects and say their thanks on a day when the veterans cemetery might

otherwise have been a pretty lonely place.

At food banks and churches and offices, people are organizing food donations and clothing drives for those who will need a little extra help keeping their families

fed and warm this winter.  They might need more assistance than usual this year, because I have a feeling this winter is going to be a cold one.

Some of the best blessings in our communities aren’t the results of any organized efforts.  They are people simply reaching out to others, noticing neighbors or

even strangers in need.  Sometimes a smile and a simple courtesy is all the exchange consists of, but helping a senior citizen with groceries, preparing a meal

for a neighbor, or just spending time on a visit to a hospital room are small expenditures of our time that mean the world to the recipient of this kindness.  These

small miracles of thoughtfulness take place in Southern Missouri every day.

There should be more of them.  There are so many opportunities to help out, to make a difference and to appreciate the services others perform for us – in just 30

minutes of your time you could be a blessing to someone else who will remember and appreciate what you did for them for a lifetime. 

I know Christmas is a time for reflection on our faith and family, while New Years Day is really the time for making resolutions, but I think that this is actually the

more appropriate time of year to try to live more fully in accordance with the teachings that shape our view of the world and how we want to live in it. 

It only takes one act of kindness to see the power of giving to others.  This is not the kind of giving that comes wrapped up in paper with a pretty bow, of course. 

It is real giving, sometimes sacrificing, on behalf of others – and it is what makes Southern Missouri one of the warmest places in the world, even in the heart of

winter.  Thanks for all that each of you does on behalf of the family, friends, neighbors and strangers in your lives, and merry Christmas to all.”