Bullhead City, Arizona

My husband and I arrived home from our Christmas vacation last year to find water coursing from the attic of our house through both floors of our home. Our home was destroyed, along with nearly 75% of our belongings. We also learned our insurance would cover none of it. We moved into two rooms of a semi-abandoned trailer with no usable water, no stove, no heat, no cooler until we got a small window-mount, holes in the floor, and a small population of mice.

Over the course of the year, with many financial and building setbacks, we slowly rebuilt. It was a tough year, and though my husband and I both have faith in God’s protection and love, there were many times we just felt alone in our struggles. And then we would receive a card or a small gift, one of which was a Christmas jar. A family had read the book, saved their money, and heard of our plight and sent us the money from their very own Christmas jar. I call this my George Bailey Christmas. In the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey realizes that greater than his problems is the love and care of those around him – many whom he would never have expected.

That has been our experience this year as people near and far have reached out to us and blessed us. And, of course, we now have our own Christmas jar, slowly filling up, with prayers that God will lead us to the person we should pass our gift on to next.