Christmas Letter 2021

The hardest part of writing a Christmas letter is figuring out how to start it—and I can’t write the middle until I have some sort of opening and this one will go down as the lamest “start” in Sanders Family Christmas Letter history.  But since I am the only one who might ever glance back at the SFCL history, I am okay with that.  Lame it is. 

The first thing I want to bring to your attention is there are NO BEACH PICTURES on this card.  That would be because SOMEONE in our family {I won’t name names here because that would be rude.} tested positive for “you know what” the night before we were to leave and we COULD NOT GO.  This is possibly the biggest news I have to share in 2021.  I could be exaggerating- or not. It goes down as one of the longest weeks of my life—missing out on being with my Georgia/Arkansas family.  I asked for daily pictures of the adventures on St. George Island on our group text which was a joy to see and a stab to my heart all at the same time. This “SOMEONE” recovered, though “you know what” was no joke, and we all survived the heartbreak of missing a week of summer we haven’t missed in 18 years. 

Now that that’s out of the way—We are grateful that 2021 has looked so very different for our kids.  Julia is finally in a college classroom with live teachers, able to move about campus freely and not stuck in her dorm room!  She is enjoying Baylor and become quite the Bear fan which has been super fun as they play in the Big 12 Championship this weekend —where she will don her green and gold at AT&T stadium and yell loudly at all the right times.  {I wonder if they won!!!}. I love watching her figure out what it means to be an adult—taking care of broken appliances, making that hard phone call, paying those bills, volunteering to cook the 15-pound turkey for the wakeboard team Thanksgiving party…… which, from the picture of the turkey skeleton she sent to our family text, I think they liked it.

Brighton is in the middle of his senior year at Southwest Christian School and he expresses a gratitude for this place on a regular basis.  He just gave his senior speech yesterday at chapel—the largest one since Covid in 2020.  My heart was full to bursting as I listened to him bare his heart in front of his peers all the way down to the middle schoolers. My prayer is that the Truth he shared will continue to take root in his heart and grow into something sturdy and beautiful in his life. His football team made it to the state semifinals AGAIN and made some great memories together.  As far as his plans for next fall, you and I will get to be surprised together!  I can’t wait to see what God has in store for B.  

Jeff finished up a yearlong interim at a church in north Fort Worth and continues to challenge the business men and women in our city through LeaderXchange.  Through a monthly leadership luncheon, he leads CORE Leadership groups during the week for leaders, helping them know their identity in Christ and their God given purpose in the business world.  I am in my third year as women’s director at Watermark Fort Worth and it’s hard to put into words how much I love it—the staff, the people, the fun- {absurdity, maybe?}, the challenge, and the personal growth.   God is gracious and kind to allow Jeff and me to serve Him in these ways.  {And for anyone who is counting—we made it to National Park number 40 this summer!}

We pray your Christmas is a celebration of the One who came “ to free all those who trust in Him from Satan's pow'r and might” and might I add to those lyrics-- “from ourselves” as well.  All of this—to the praise of His glorious grace.  

Merry Christmas!