It is that point in time that is uncertain — that time between Christmas and New Years that we find ourselves. Although the church celebrates 12 days of Christmas, many people try to forget Christmas and plunge headfirst into the new year. Doesn’t the Christmas story have more to teach us?

It is difficult to imagine wise men in a distant country looking for a sign of the birth of Christ. Questions must have flooded their minds — Is today the day that we finally see a sign? Will I recognize the sign when I see it? What happens if the sign comes and I miss it? Where will the sign lead? It is in that spirit that our beloved Franklin finds itself at the cusp of the New Year.

We have questions that we cannot answer and dreams that will be more challenging to achieve. So what are we to do?

I believe the answer is to follow the lead of the wise men and follow the star. We search and ponder, all the while looking for that star, that sign that is to come. The wise men seemed to always look for the sign of Christ’s birth and then they acted on their discovery. Should we not do the same?

While our community looks for that sign, we also must be ready to move quickly when a new opportunity presents itself. While none of us knows the future, we have a reasonable certainty that it will be different than last year.

How can you and I affect that difference in a positive way? Love your neighbor. Remember that all of us are in this together and when we work together, we become stronger.

Get involved in city and county government. Volunteer at the hospital or a nursing home. Write a cheery note to someone who needs a boost. Work with one of the many service organizations in our town. Place your emphasis on serving others as Christ serves us.

I am convinced that our community is in the middle of a transformational period, and I anticipate doing everything that I can to assist in that process.

The words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow give me hope:

(From I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, 1863)

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Dear friends, let us look forward to 2010, determined to make it the year that Franklin began its rebirth.