. . . has been a familiar cliché since as far back as I can remember (and that’s a very long time!) But it certainly gained credence within our NW neighborhood in particular this year as we simultaneously lost two prominent adored pastors as well as several other beloved neighborhood residents–through illness, auto accidents and by other means.
But “The Ides of March” have passed! Let us now “Lift up our eyes unto the Hills from whence cometh our help! Our help cometh from the Lord which made Heaven and earth!”
The Valley is once again, as in Springtime, blossoming with activities that unite us through love, unity, hope and the rejuvenating breaths that always accompany Spring. Let’s keep abreast of them-–through the pages of “The Roanoke Tribune-–and support one another!
One such unique event will be held this Friday at the Community Action Center as we end Black History Month with a dinner and true documentary on a different side of “Black History!” (It may not be too late to call The Tribune office (343-0326) for more details.)
Also keep abreast of the many other interesting happenings throughout this very special Roanoke Valley, completely surrounded by “the Arms of God’s mountains,” visible even from the ground. Let’s not allow the “bad news” that usually (literally) Trumps the media distract us from our innumerable blessings!
The initiation of February as Black History Month (although the shortest one of the year) presented this nation with its greatest challenge (and blessing) since the ratification of the 13th Amendment of its Constitution on December 18, 1865, formally abolishing slavery in the United States–as initiated by President Abraham Lincoln.
Likewise, despite the undeniable fact, the abysmal state of the American economy had never plunged lower than its depths, millions of Americans are still unable (or unwilling) to accept the reality of the historic radical uplifting that followed the inauguration of our nation’s first President and Commander-in-Chief of African descent, Barack Obama.
All proof positive that absolute repose in man and nature does not exist! All things in nature make progress or lose ground. Everything moves forward–or backward. Nothing in life is without motion! From birth man progresses only to a certain point at best, before beginning his natural decline until gradually arriving at the state of death. The same applies to all plant life that progresses from seed to maturity, then begins to wane if left beyond harvest time.
In infancy mankind was spiritually strong but scientifically and technologically weak. But as the situation reverses now finds itself on the brink of self-destruction through misappropriation of wealth and from using too many right discoveries for wrong reasons. May we become more mindful of the warning: “There are none so blind as those who will not see! I believe that each of us represents a unique part of a complete whole that no one else could adequately replace. Therefore, the supreme challenge is learning to pool rather than pit our individual strengths in order to minimize our collective weaknesses for, as Jesse Jackson so succinctly puts it: “It doesn’t matter what ship we came over here on, we’re all in the same boat now!”
