A couple of years ago, our teenage daughter was feeling some anxiety about how we were going to pull everything together for Christmas.

I told her, “This time of year we just do the best we can, and then wait for the miracles!”

And that’s what we do.

We have a large family, and money is tight around the holidays, but I’ve learned over the course of my life to have faith and believe that things will work out for the best.

And they do.

But it was in a different way this time.

—

I’d first heard about the Christmas Jars movement several years ago, while listening to the Glenn Beck show when I was out running errands.

It was such a sweet, simple concept! 

The idea of leaving an anonymous gift on someone’s porch, reminding them of the love of Jesus Christ and their neighbors, just made me feel warm from head to toe!

Thinking back, I couldn’t remember a Christmas when we hadn’t been blessed with some thoughtful gift from neighbors or friends, and I found myself wanting to give back.

I wanted to lift someone up at this most wonderful time of the year!

At home, I shared the CJ story idea with my kids, and we started a jar. It wasn’t a big one, just a two-pinter, but it was a fun Christmas project!

We began dropping our spare change into the jar as often as we could, and it always made me smile when I heard it chink!

I couldn’t wait to leave our shiny mini-jar of goodwill on somebody’s doorstep, then ring the bell and run! So many things I wanted to give and share!

But as Christmas drew nearer, I realized once again that we weren’t going to be able to do much. . As usual, our finances were not cooperating, and there just wasn’t enough to go around.

Even with the long hours my husband generally works to make ends meet, it’s difficult to give our family everything we want during the holidays. .

Our sweet teenage daughter was keenly aware of this, and desiring to be helpful, felt obligated to contribute. 

She loves her family deeply and wants so badly to help provide gifts and experiences that she feels are expected and required for happy memories to be made!

Sadly, the expectations and expenses associated with the holiday season contribute to her anxiety, and sometimes the pressure she feels seems overwhelming.

This particular year, she was emotionally exhausted with all that she’d been trying to do.

One afternoon, when we were chatting in the kitchen, it all became too much and she ran downstairs to her room.

Seeing tears running down her freckled cheeks, my Mommy heart broke. I wanted so much to help her feel better!

And then a thought came.

It occurred to me that maybe I needed to ‘bring it home,’ if you will, and take care of my family first. Perhaps before strangers, with whom I didn’t have a direct assignment or connection.

Specifically, my sweet daughter!

Maybe the little jar would bring her comfort.

Something sparked inside me and without thinking too much, I grabbed it off the counter, wrapped a ribbon around it, and wrote a quick note, (short and sweet.)

I tiptoed downstairs and lovingly placed the little jar, heavy with (mostly silver) coins, on the floor in front of her bedroom door, note underneath. .

I knocked lightly, then ran down the hall and hid.

It was quiet for a moment. . And then I heard our little girl get up and walk slowly toward the door.

Peeking out from my hiding spot down the hall, I saw her open it and look down (with red eyes) at the small, shining glass jar at her feet. But she didn’t say anything.

I think it took her a minute to realize that it was for her.

She stood there, considering the muted light reflecting off of the silver coins for a moment, then slowly bent and picked it up.

Ducking my head back into the laundry room, I heard the door softly shut, and knew she needed a few minutes to herself.

I hoped the gift of our little Christmas Jar would make her feel loved.

(If it made my daughter’s eyes shine, if I comforted the heart of one of those closest to me, that would count, right?)

Our child may not be homeless or sitting by the side of the road with a cardboard sign, but she nevertheless needed to feel seen and appreciated. .

I remember my husband said once that “sometimes the best way to move forward is to take a step back.”

Standing there, to the side of our washer and dryer, I took his advice.

Maybe I’d been missing the mark.

Maybe I was trying to do too much and needed to look closer to home for someone to bless, to look around me at those over whom I had been given a sacred responsibility. . And really see them.

I needed to bring it back home and remember those closest to me, who perhaps sometimes I’ve. . taken for granted?

And then I realized it doesn’t have to be a stranger.

Our little jar of hope, our acts of kindness and love, can be shared with any one of God’s children, and might mean even more when shared with someone I knew well and with whom I shared a tender bond.

Someone who needed comfort and care.

It felt so good, giving that jar to my darling daughter! This was my Christmas miracle!

I had reminded myself about the real reason we celebrate Christmas, the glorious love of Jesus Christ! And it made me feel warm from head to toe!

I began to understand the magic. 

I needed to see more clearly, help more consciously, and love more fully.

It isn’t the expected, routine tradition, or the self-gratification brought from giving (material) things away at Christmastime.

It wasn’t the money in our little two-pint jar.

It was the love!

Amy — West Jordan, Utah