Family blessings take away month’s bitterness
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Union Square News
Ruby Johnson
Billy Hill (standing) and Pastor Wilbert Johnson (sitting)
Old family photo: Billy Hill was about 7 or 8 years old at the time, pictured all the way to the left with no shoes on standing in front of the taller gentleman, his uncle Earl. Now at 80 years old Billy is still enjoying family gatherings. (Also pictured is Ruby Johnson in the front row, with the arrow pointing up.) This photo was taken by Mr. Prater, grandfather of Union Square’s Pat Windsor, in the 1950s. The only photographer in Rockford, he came to the family’s shack house to take the photo.
Or – Option B for cutline for photo 2, slightly shorter:
Old family photo: Billy Hill was about 7 or 8 years old at the time, pictured all the way to the left with no shoes on standing in front of the taller gentleman, his uncle Earl. Now at 80 years old Billy is still enjoying family gatherings. This photo was taken by Mr. Prater, grandfather of Union Square’s Pat Windsor, in the 1950s.
For 40 years the month of April has been a bittersweet month for me. However, this year’s April took the bitterness out of the taste. The families of the Johnsons, Hills, Browns, Crawfords, Craytons, and Pattersons made the difference. We all tasted and saw that God is still good!
I was reminded that 40 years of bitterness don’t mean a thing, because when God is in it, there is no limit, and we thank Him. We thank my great-nephew Standester Hill and his friend Amber for all the work they put into this great occasion, and also to my niece Sylvia and her siblings; Jerome, Perry, Stanley, and Toni; and also Billy, who was honored for his eightieth birthday and the star of this event, being Big Mama’s oldest grandchild.
We celebrated all the ones born in April and a big celebration for Big Mama’s other grandson, Pastor Wilbert Johnson, who turned 65-plus on April 25, and his wife, Sylvia, on April 24. Wilbert has overcome adversities. When man said “no,” God said “yes.”
Wilbert attended the celebration, looking like God’s manchild, after being confined almost a year from sickness. But look at God! And his precious wife, Sylvia, has and still is doing a magnificent job taking care of her husband and brought him to the gathering.
We are a blessed family. My bittersweet April turned into sweet showers of rain and sunshine, and a beautiful rainbow is being seen from the legacy of Earlie and Beatrice Johnson, whose dreams live on.
April is also Heartworm Awareness Month for dogs. So dog lovers, let’s be reminded. They are family, too. It’s more than just owning a dog. It’s about taking care of a pet as if it was a family member.
Happy birthday to Katurah Lewis on April 30, from your brother, Randall, and the Union Square crew.
We are praying for the family of Mr. Charles L. Luker, the Trong family and our E-911 Director Amanda R. Kimsey and other family members. Words cannot fit in our mouths and hearts!
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Call Ruby at 256-935-1330 to spread your good news.
