Imagine yourself opening your front door to a glistening winter wonderland. Snowflakes sparkle as they dance their way to the edges of tree branches and drop a soft white blanket atop the ground. The world is peaceful, and the air crisp.
Bundled up, you step into the cold pressing fresh tracks into the snow on your way to your mailbox. Inside you find an evergreen envelope with your name delicately scribed in gold ink. Once you’re back inside your cozy home, you slide your finger to open the envelope and pull out a Christmas letter with photos, a few updates, and a reminder of how loved you are.
This is the letter we’ve sent to you.
For the next few moments, scroll down and enjoy the message it contains.
Without further ado, here’s a (virtual) Christmas card from us to you.
10 years of marriage: This November marked 10 years of marriage. It is hard to believe it’s been ten years already, and yet looking back on our wedding day it feels like forever ago. We are so incredibly thankful for our marriage; we’ve grown so much both in love for each other and in how to better care for each other. We praise the Lord for the way He has helped us build a strong marriage. To celebrate this year, we headed to the North Shore of Minnesota (where the photos you see here were taken). It was a wonderful and much-needed getaway where we soaked up the woods, enjoyed views of Lake Superior, and reminisced on our years together. We are still very much in love, and cannot wait to see what the Lord has for us in years to come.
Auntie and Uncle times two: Little Leo Koester joined my sister’s family on May 16th. As you know we both adore Lola, and love being Auntie and Uncle, so getting to welcome another sweet one into the family has brought us a lot of joy. He is the cutest little peanut, has the biggest smile, and we already love him so much.
Growth in our jobs: The Lord has blessed both of us with growth in our jobs throughout this difficult year. Chris was recently named a Rising Star in his field of Mergers & Acquisitions. He also took on another role as staffer through which he helps delegate teams and mentors junior staff members. (I’m a proud wife who wasn’t surprised in the slightest when someone in upper management applauded Chris for the way he helped make a much needed shift in the work culture through his new role).
I was excited to be published in Grit & Virtue and The Joyful Life Magazine this year. You can read more about each of the pieces here. I also grew my Instagram following - where I write and create videos to help women find peace amidst anxiety - to over 1700 people. You can connect with me there @mindyklarsen.
Family moved: If you’ve been here for awhile you know that one of the praises I’ve had in the past is the gift of my sister and her family living only 10 houses down; the chapter on that sweet season has closed as they bought their first home 35 minutes away. We are so happy for them, and love visiting them in their new space, but naturally, we miss being a two minute walk down the street.
Heavy anxiety: I am no stranger to the struggle with anxiety, but this year (specifically August - September) was the heaviest yet. Physical anxiety, largely in the form of panic attacks, wreaked havoc on my body and debilitated me. This is both a challenge and a praise as this tough month was a wake up call to make shifts to better support my body and mental health. While I would never wish to relive them, I am thankful because it helped me rely heavily on the Lord & I’ve since made much more progress towards peace (and it gave me a whole lot more passion for my mission to help others find peace right in the midst of anxiety).
Navigating unknowns: We are in this boat with many of you as the unknowns of this world continue to carry on. This should come as no surprise as Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble…” but the unknowns in this season have been exhausting. It is not easy, but we are doing our best to leave the future of our country, questions about job security, and every other unknown that weighs heavy in the hands of the Lord as He is the only one who knows and affirms our next steps.
Psalm 27:13 says, “I will remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” No matter what is going on in our world, good or bad, the Lord is always, always working for our good. We are so thankful for the many ways we saw the Lord moving in our lives throughout the past year. Here are just a few:
Faithfulness in healing - my family from Covid, my mom from hip surgery, Chris from a torn hip muscle
Provision in timing - It is evident that the Lord goes before us and in Him all things hold together - we saw that many times throughout this past year. Whether in small things like a perfectly timed get-together with friends to lift our spirits that were feeling heavy, or the way He orchestrated my nephew’s birth and time spent in the NICU before my sister moved away (making it more capable for us to be hands on with my niece), and gave Chris the opportunity to see his grandma before she passed away, He provided over and over again.
Sustenance in heavy moments - I felt like I would have slipped through a crack in the floor when my anxiety peaked this summer had it not been for the Lord and His Word holding me up. I was reading through a study of Psalms at the time and each one was particularly purposeful for the exact moment that I needed to read the truth it provided. I would have truly suffered had the Lord not been there breathing life into my heart through His Word, and the Holy Spirit.
I cannot adequately put into words how much we love the Lord and how grateful we are for the ways He has loved us, provided for us, and protected us throughout this past year. No matter how heavy it was at times, He was our light in the darkness, our hope in the heavy, and our peace amidst anxiety.
I love this verse from Hebrews that emphasizes the incredible gift we have through Jesus who “is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.”
If you’re feeling heavy right now, my prayer is that you might be overwhelmed by the truth that you are being held by the very creator of the world who sent His Son to sustain you with His powerful word. Jesus came for a very specific purpose, not just for salvation, but also so that God could love us to the fullest extent of giving us someone who felt pain just as we do so that we might be comforted in the best way possible.
Jesus coming to earth was no small thing. It changed everything.
May you feel the beautiful weight of that powerful truth this Christmas, and every day after.
** The photos shown were taken by the incredibly talented Tonya Hjort photography. She was so much fun to work with and we LOVE the photos she captured. You can follow her on Instagram here. **
