Small Town Blessings

I live in the small town of Milledgeville. I pastor a Church out in the country that you can see as you make your way from Milledgeville to Chadwick. It is here, amidst these small towns, that God has called to minister. Small communities, like ours, dot the landscape throughout the mid-west and are often times passed over when people think about where they might live someday. Now I could tell you many reasons why I have chosen to make my home amidst these Illinois communities, but I just want to share with you one reason I am thankful for our small towns and why I see them as a blessing.
I am thankful for all of our small town businesses and our craftsmen. For my carpenters and roofers, for my electricians and plumbers, for my sheet rockers and painters. For those who lay carpet and for those who fix my air conditioner and furnace. For all of these folks are just a phone call away. And when I make that call, I always get a real voice and one that I am on a first name basis with. I am thankful for my auto repair shops and my florist, for my bank and local credit union, for the service they offer in a friendly in timely manner. I am grateful for my local lumberyard and those who cut our hair and of course for our doctors who meet our health needs. I thank you all who work to do their best on my behalf and to make our towns better. I also am thankful to to all of our Small businesses that offer employment to our towns, businesses that that are vital to the health of our communities. These businesses grow not from advertisements in the paper, but mostly by word of mouth, because of the fine work that they do and because they are my neighbors whom I shop with, whose kids go to school with one another, whom I see at ball games and in our Churches. Today I simply want to say "Thank You" for serving our small communities and for offering unto us the skills that you have learned and for offering them unto us in a friendly and timely manner. It is because of your faithful service to your towns that I and many others like me keep calling you back again and again when we need your help. And for those of you out there that live in some other small community, say "Thanks" to those who serve you as well.
Once again "Thanks a Bunch"! Pastor Rick Koch Dutchtown Church