God bless, God is good! I will be sharing the story that affected my brothers family of 6 in December of 2023.

As the holidays approached and excitement was settling in, it was 5 days before Christmas when devastation hit. Night approached and the clock struck midnight when their family home became engulfed in flames claiming everything they ever cherished, including a couple of the family pets while 2 had escaped the flames. By the grace of God, the family was spared their lives and no one was hurt.

The family gathered in the front yard as they felt the heat on their faces and watched their newly purchased home burn to the ground. Everything was gone. The idea of losing everything was very overwhelming. Family, friends, and members of the community had all stepped up and did not let this family go without. Donations sites were established, items started pouring in to help the family get back on their feet.

It was a couple days after the fire, I came home from work and found a gift nestled up by my garage door. I scooped up the gift and placed it under my tree until I could make contact with my brother’s family. My guess by weight and sound was someone had made a dinner menu and packed up noodles in a box with a couple jars of sauce. Once the hustle of the holidays were over I made a visit to the hotel that they were temporarily placed in. I told them what my guess was and we all laughed. The card was perfectly written with a beautiful message from God inside but left by an anonymous giver. The family was in suspense as the gift was open.

Carefully packed with pool noodles came a “Christmas Jars” book accompanied by a jar full of change. We all sat their appreciating the idea that someone collected and donated their change that they had saved up, pulled on our heart strings. My brother took the jar to the window for better lighting as we all guess how much change was in the jar. He turned around in disbelief, his face fell to the floor as the only words that seem to come out of his mouth were, “OMG, you guys…. you GUYS! No fricken way!!!!”

He turned the jar upside down and from the bottom you could see a wad of money bundled together. We were all in disbelief with what we thought were pasta noodles turned into a substantial financial donation. Even though the family had lost everything, one thing they gained a better perspective on was that tragic event restored humanity and humbled our entire family.

Personally, I can’t remember when the last time I was that excited watching someone else open a gift. This truly reinstated the meaning of Christmas. From this day forward we will be spreading the word and partipating in the Christmas Jars movement. God Bless.

Spring Family — Holton, Michigan