We did it friends. You did it. You made it through the year. You chose to wake up each morning and get out of bed. You faced the tough days and embraced the good. You waited out the difficult moments and believed they would pass. You chose to believe that life is worth living. This is your prize, your reward and your victory song: You did it.
People talk about the New Year as a fresh start. This is your chance to begin again. And you have this opportunity every day; to believe in the possibility that something better can happen, that you deserve good things, and that the hard work chipping away at those thoughts, feelings and circumstances will pay off. And it will, because you have had the faith to take a single step every day. The small steps have brought you here, to this moment.
Congratulations.
This may not have been your year. We have experienced grief and loss, fear and anxiety. But it is okay to feel these things. It is ok to look at 2014 and say, “I’d rather leave you behind,” because this is but a chapter in your story; a moment that acts as a stepping stone to the next. This is a new beginning.
The big victories and the small steps, the bad days and the tears- may you look at this past year and see that it all counted for something more.
Because you did it. We did it. Together.
Together we walked through this year with open hearts and big dreams. We struggled, but we picked each other up again. Together, we became hope. Hope for our friends, hope for our families and hope for the world. Hope lives within you. Please remember this. Please hold on to this promise.
Hope is within you, and this will give you the courage to enter tomorrow.
I hope you know you matter. That each second of your life up to this point has been important, that God is on your side and you are capable of doing wonderful things.
You did it. We did it. And whatever 2015 brings you can hold this close to your heart: we will walk through it, together.
Together we are stronger.
Congratulations dear friend, we did it. And as we leave this chapter of our stories behind, we can believe that the next will be full of hope because we are never alone. We do this together. And as this door closes, we can say, “We did it.”