I hope you took the opportunity to vote in our recent election and you will continue to make your voice heard at the ballot box as we decide who will represent us in the U.S. Congress from the 3rd Congressional District. I know you will agree we had some truly outstanding candidates in this race and they are deserving of our appreciation for their obvious desire to give us great representation in Congress.

In future columns in the coming weeks and months I plan to devote a significant amount of coverage to the campaigns coming up for president, Senate, U.S. House and many others, but for today I want to talk about the promise we all have of living a life of hope, faith and courage.

I was looking back over some comments made several years ago by Brenda Canup at a Kinston Rotary Club meeting — comments which never grow old and are always relevant:

1. A pretty face is nothing if you have an ugly heart

2. You know why it's hard to be happy? It's because we refuse to let go of the things that make us sad

3. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience — we are spiritual beings having a human experience

4. Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination — the best is yet to come

5. Be accepting of the bad things in your life, for they opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to.

In 2015, Frazier Bruton shared some thoughts with me about life and how we need to appreciate the efforts of others on our behalf. There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone except her loving boyfriend who was always there for her. She told him if only she could see the world, she would marry him.

Then one day someone donated a pair of eyes to her and she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her to marry him now that she could see, but when she looked at him and saw he was blind, she refused his proposal.

Through his tears he wrote a note to her, saying, "Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours they were mine."

We need to remember and appreciate those who stand by us during life's most painful moments.

Now let's close with an example of how important it is for us to be careful of what we say and to whom we say it. A couple in Boston were going on a vacation to South Florida. At the time, the weather in Boston was very cold, and they were looking forward to spending a few days in warm weather.

The night before they were to depart, the wife received a call from her company informing her a high-ranking official in the company was planning to visit her local office the next day and it was imperative she be there. She and her husband talked it over, and worked out a plan for him to fly out to Florida the next morning as scheduled, and she would take the evening flight.

The next day, once he got settled into their hotel, he wanted to send her a message letting her know he had arrived safely. Since he didn't want to interrupt her, he decided to send his message via e-mail, but in his haste he got one letter wrong and his message went, not to his wife, but to a grieving lady whose husband had passed away the day before.

When she read the e-mail, she screamed and fainted. Her daughter rushed in and read the message, which was as follows: "My beloved wife, I have arrived safely. I look forward to your arrival tomorrow."

Then he added the following, "Boy, it's hot down here!"

Have a great day!