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My First Christmas Jar - Monday, December 24, 2012
Last year, my sister was really struggling
financially and so many of my friends, family and Ritual clients gave
generously so that she could provide a great Christmas for her kids. One
person (a stranger) heard what we were doing and stopped
by the salon with some toys and a heavy box for my sister and just said she wished my sister a Merry Christmas. She wouldn't leave her name, but
said she was friends of a friend of mine. Curious, I peeked in the
box. There was a little book called "The Christmas Jar" in it and the
rest was full of money, mostly coins with some bills. There was easily a
couple of hundred dollars in coins & bills. I couldn't believe that
a stranger would just give away so much money to a stranger. More
curious still, I went to the bookstore and found the book after
Christmas and read it. It inspired me to start my own Christmas Jar. A
jar that you throw your spare change into all throughout the year, with
the goal of finding someone to give it to right before Christmas.
Well,
today was the day. I didn't get fancy with my "jar", but it was nearly
full. I was counting on God to lead me to a person who either really
needed the money, or who really needed an act of kindness.
Skyler and I
went to Fred Meyer this morning and had barely gotten in the door when I
ran into a person who has been in the salon a couple of times. Her son
died this year and as you can imagine, she has had a difficult time
coping. In addition, her water heater went out and money is
excruciatingly tight. She started telling me how she had just purchased a
couple of gifts for her grand kids, but couldn't afford much. As she continued
talking, I could sense the sadness in her heart. I said, "I don't know
if you believe in God," to which she replied, "Yes, but God and I haven't been talking much lately."
"Well," I said, "I believe that God put you right here, right
now in front of me because I came here to give this jar to someone. I
didn't know who it was going to go to, but I knew it was going home with
someone from this store today. I think God intended it to go to you." There were tears, there were hugs and there were many thank you's.
I
cannot imagine how my Christmas could get any better than it was this
morning. I already have my next jar ready to be filled. I would
encourage you to find the book and to read it. Maybe you will feel
inspired to start your own jar.
Blessings to each and everyone of you this Christmas season.Labels: change, Christmas, Christmas jar, clients, donations, holiday, love, money, Random act of kindness, Ritual, thank you
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