As I was looking back over this year in preparation for giving this speech, it hit me just how much we've all grown.  When I first came to Dyeland, JenniAnn, at seventeen, was among the youngest of the people here.  She's given me permission to say that she'll be thirty this summer.   Be prepared, Laja.  Plans are already being made for your party...  And Rose, our "baby," turned twenty two today.  Happy birthday, Rose!  But growth... true growth... is much more than age.  And I've seen a lot of that.  Babies have been born, romances have blossomed, friendships have deepened, faith has been rekindled and strengthened.  People have seen past their own trials to reach out to others.  You've gone outside your comfort zones to reach out to people, to help them, to share that sense of belonging that we are so blessed to have.  I'm so proud of you all and honored to call you friends.  Even more importantly, the Father is so pleased with each of you.  He loves you all so much and I hope you never, ever forget that.  If you do, I'll be there to remind you. 

When I sat down to write this last year, we were all still grieving.  Though that pain has lessened, I know it will never entirely go away.  And that's okay.  Because when you love someone... anyone... it hurts to know they're no longer on earth with you.  And as you go through life and face more losses, it's only natural that they bring back into your mind and into your hearts... more than usual... the memory of loved ones whose deaths you thought you had overcome.  A man I met only briefly during an assignment once said of losing a loved one "You don't get over it, you just get on with it."  In all my years as an angel of death, I don't think I've ever been able to say anything that so perfectly describes loss.  But I do have something to add: you don't have to "get on with it" alone.  You have friends.  You have a Father who will never, ever leave you.  So on those nights when regrets keep you up or on those days you reach for the phone and then remember there is no number you can call for your loved one... reach out and reach up.  Someone will always be there for you.

A beloved prayer reads "In the midst of death we are in life."  I think that might have been our anthem this past year.  Because there has been such life!  And laughter and peace and a whole lot of fun.  I, for one, will never forget how understanding and kind you were when a certain youthful indiscretion of mine came to light last April.  Oh... I wish you could see your faces right now.  Relax!  Tess, please stop looking at me like that.  I only mean my infamous roof jumping incident.  Thanks to some of you, I no longer feel self-conscious wearing shorts.  That's quite an accomplishment.  As was getting my hair cut.  Between JenniAnn's actual styling and Rose's and Adam's musical stylings, I think they've ruined the typical barber experience for me.  There's nothing quite like getting gum cut out of one's hair to the accompaniment of "Hallelujah."  Then September brought my observed birthday... an occasion that wouldn't even exist without the kindness of you ladies who always do your best to ensure we angels feel loved.  It meant so much to celebrate with all of you.  The promise of good times to come has seldom seemed more real and more possible to me than it did that day.  As October drew to a close, I was blessed again when I became supervisor to Violeta.  I am very grateful to the Father for her company and for the joy of seeing the world through less experienced eyes.  I am also grateful to all of you for welcoming her and helping me to teach her and love her.  With the arrival of Christmas we came upon another chance to celebrate John's life together.  You all did so with such love.  One of the things I love best about being an angel of death is standing in awe and wonder as I am blessed with opportunities to glimpse your strength as humans and your devotion to each other.  I had so many of those opportunities that night.  You are, each of you, a testament to his legacy of love and compassion.

In these early months of 2012, I can already tell that this will be another year of drawing closer to each other and embracing God's plan for our lives.  Whatever path His plan leads us down, we don't walk it alone.  We have Him, we have each other.