We normally use this space to offer opinions on our community, brag about someone's good work, offer suggestions for improvement and generally let the newspaper to talk to this community.

However, today, we want to touch on something that reinforces our belief in Greenville being a great place to live.

On Dec. 28, Matthew Golden, 6, was critically injured in an automobile accident.

As you may have read on the front page, he remains in ICU at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.

Since that time, his family continues to show us what it means to have courage, faith and hope.

In our history, great orators spoke that even in the worst tragedies there are positive outcomes.

In this tragedy, we learned that life is indeed fragile, but we also learned what having faith is all about.

Many people in the Goldens' circumstance would be pointing blame, but not them, nor their family or friends.

Instead, Matthew is a rallying cry for those who believe in a higher power, a higher purpose.

We would urge those reading this to take a moment and reflect on their personal lives and being.

It is times like these that we realize it is not the amount of money you have in the bank, how big and nice your home may be or that you drive the most expensive car in town.

We know that the most prized thing is our lives is our loved ones.

When everything else is wiped away, it is the love we give and the love we receive that remains.

So we say this to you, our readers:

Take the time to reflect on how you live your life.

Think about how much time you devote to your loved ones.

An unknown philosopher once said: "If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can’t buy."

We should all take that to heart.

Another thing we would like to comment on is the amount of community support that the Golden family gets daily from people here in Butler County.

Just reading over the support board, we see how Matthew's plight has touched so many lives.

We watch the board daily and remain amazed at how this young life has polarized us all.

Through him, we no longer seem to be thinking about ourselves, but more about others.

That is a good thing.

Matthew's recovery is important to us all.

We stand with his family in this difficult time.

We believe that surely, there is a higher purpose yet for him in our world.

We want to see that come to fruition.

We believe that Matthew deserves the opportunity to give each day the same effort to achieve whatever goals he sets.

We do understand how fragile life is for us all. No one can escape the inevitable whether you're a king, prince or pauper.

Our purpose is not to scare anyone; rather it is prepare us all to be able to say we have no regrets.

So remember that we need to offer 100 percent of ourselves to family, friends and whatever your priorities in life may be.

And after reading this, take a moment and remember Matthew Golden.

We should always mourn our losses for they are many, but we should always celebrate our victories for they are few.

Matthew's survival is a victory.