Versailles, Kentucky

I read the book Christmas Jars for the first time in December 2011. I was so moved by the story, I decided not to keep the book, but to pass it on to others, in hopes that the book would inspire jars or more Christmas Spirit. I am not sure why I did not start my jar the next year, but I didn’t until December 26th, 2015. I went to the store and found just the perfect jar, I brought it home, and wrote on the lid “Christmas Jar” and decorated it with Christmas Scrap book supplies. We decided that any singles or change would go into our jar. As the year went on, I found my husband making change for his fives, tens, or twenties if he needed small pocket change for work, so when our jar went on it’s way, it had all denominations of money in it.

As we came into October, we started having conversations as to how the jar would leave our hands and who would we be giving it to. I decided, since it had been a while since I read the book, and my husband never read it yet, I would buy it again, and we would read it with the hopes of getting creative ideas as to how our jar would find a home.

By Thanksgiving, we both were done reading the book, but no closer to knowing what to do with our jar. So, we decided to start praying about it. We would come up with an idea or a name, and I would always say, “Let’s pray about it”, which kind of lead me to believe our idea was not what we should do with our jar.
Around that same time we were having late yard work done and strangers started knocking on the door looking for odd jobs. These events were happening frequently and I was getting very uneasy about them all, in fact one day, I even ended up calling the police, when there was someone climbing over a locked gate to get in my yard. (Turned out it was a worker, that I had no idea was to be there). Later in the next week, I had people going door to door selling things, but the same person showed up at our door three days apart from the time before but trying to sell me something completely different. With all this going on, I felt our jar sitting on the counter where it could be easily seen was not safe and I keeping it locked and out of sight.

But a few days before Christmas, with all the silly knocks at the door, as I went out to run errands, I took the jar with me. I even disguised it by dropping it into a padded Christmas mailing enveloped and seat belted it in the front seat next to me as I drove around town. I went to the bank, the grocery, the post office and I even stopped to get a lottery ticket. At every stop light or after I got back in the car after each errand, I would look at the bag and ask aloud, “Well God, who gets our jar this year?” I figured I had 2 or 3 more days before we would part with jar. But if I didn’t keep asking God, he would not make it clear to me who was to get it. While out on each of these errands, I would talk to people, some I knew, some I didn’t, but I was always trying to spread Christmas cheer, and I really think I rarely meet a stranger.

The last trip was my lottery ticket. I do not know all of the workers in the store, but there is one, whom I have gotten to know on a first name basis. Always after I buy my ticket, there is a dollar or two left, and I give it to Brittany. We always say, if she wins I get 10% of the winnings, we laugh and I go on my way. This day was no different, except there was this padded bag with a jar of money in it, sitting next to me that I was talking to all day long. I drive out of the parking lot, go down the street, make my right down another street and come to a stop light, when I look over at the bag, and this time after I ask God, who gets our Jar, I quietly hear God say, “Brittany”.

I was so excited, I race home to find my husband home. As I come into the kitchen carrying the jar, he says to me, “I wondered where that went, and have you decided what we are going to do with it?” To which I reply, “Yeah, I have an idea, Brittany” He says, “The girl you buy the lottery tickets from?” I tell him yes and I explain how I heard God and he asked me when did I want to do it, and I said, “How about now?” We then called the store to find out if she was still there and what time she got off. We went back to the store about 10 minutes before she got off. She had no idea what we were doing, We left the jar in the padded mailing envelope and enclosed a copy of the Christmas Jars along with. I briefly told her about the book and how it moved me enough to start my own jar….and that we struggled to decide who would get out jar, until God answered me that day, it was all I could do to keep from crying as I talked. All we asked of her, was that she read the book too, that we had given her a copy of it. She looked in the bag and decided not to take the jar out right then, she would open it farther at home. We both stood there hugging and crying and wishing each other Merry Christmas…and even though it was a few days away, I knew nothing could make me happier than the feeling of giving that jar away.

What do I know about Brittany, her first name. That she is a young mother, that works hard everyday to make minimum wage and try to raise a child on that. I don’t know her last name, I don’t know where she lives and I clearly had no idea the impact my jar would have. I just know that she is always upbeat and cheerful when I come in. After Christmas, when we bought our New Years lottery ticket I saw Brittany again. She was once again Thanking me for her jar. She went on to explain that she had read the book already also and even though, she might not be able to save as much as was in her jar, she would be giving a jar away this Christmas. She went on to tell me, that her electricity had been cut off, and that money from her jar paid the bill and got it back on. I do not know what else she was able to pay for or buy for her child for Christmas, but I know that she had electricity and her jar came at the perfect time.

We hope that others will continue to give out jars. As I write now, we are in discussion as to where this year’s jar will land. We do not know the impact it will have or even if it will go to anyone that we know, but I hope that once again, God tells us who needs it.