Tucson, Arizona

For the past four years, it has become a tradition between my mother and I that she give me books for Christmas. I love to read, and it has become my personal habit to spend the entirety of Christmas day curled up on the couch immersed in a good story; I usually finish these 500 page novels within the day. The Christmas of 2014 was a little different though; instead of opening a package from under the Christmas tree containing the usual two novels, I received a very small, thin book in my stocking, titled “Christmas Jars”. I must admit, I was disappointed when I first looked at it. Where was the huge book packed full of action and romance and far away lands that amazed me? Instead, I was blessed with this tiny gift that day, and I say blessed because it truly did change my life.

Per my tradition, I finished that book within the day, and believe me, it measured up to all the other books I’d gotten over the years, not only because of how well and beautifully crafted the story was, but because of the message it contained and the impact it left on my heart. I was going to start my own Christmas Jar. At the time, I was only 16, a junior in high school with no job, but I was determined to somehow fill up a jar and be able to give it to someone in need, no strings attached.

Filling up a jar without a source of income proved to be a little difficult. Christmas of 2015 I’d only managed to gather at the most $10, and while that could help somebody, I wanted to do more, and so I saved my jar with the hope that I would be able actually fill it with the help of my new job.

I am so happy to say that I completely filled up a jar for this Christmas! This entire year I have thought about it everyday, spending cash when I could and happily dumping the coins into my Mason jar, not because it meant the jar was getting fuller or that the amount of money it contained was increasing, but because I knew that whomever God directed me to give it to in December would receive just a little more help for me, and I could make their holiday a little bit brighter.

I am also pleased to say that I have spread the Christmas Jar story to so many more people in my community. My entire family has now started one that we will fill together throughout the year, and for the staff gifts at my church this year, my mother and I gave them empty, decorated Mason jars and a copy of the “Christmas Jars”. All of them have come up to my mother and said they are intrigued, and I cannot wait for when the reach the end of the book and fully understand what the story of the Christmas Jar is all about. I’ve decided that this gift goes both ways; the person who receives the full jar is most definitely blessed with a gift, but the person who receives an empty jar, they get a gift as well, because it means they can do something so much bigger than themselves, and spread some love on Christmas.