As we look around us at the start of this new year, we have a lot to be thankful for, we have warm dry homes, our possessions are intact, and we are safe.
Many of our fellow citizens have not been so lucky, and their lives have been changed forever, having had to face the swift and unstoppable forces of nature and lost everything, possibly even for a second time, and now face a long absence before they can return, once again to their homes.
As they face a long uphill struggle, let us support them, and remember them in our prayers with the hope that 2016 will be better than the year we have left behind.
Be thankful for what you have!