'I don't care if it has 2 cents in it, it is wonderful'

Everett, WA:

For the past 3 years I have been contributing to two sets of Christmas Jars. One through our book club and the other with my family. This year our book club gave away 3 Christmas Jars to two needy families.  W had already picked the mom of a friend to receive our family jar.  Then one of my co-workers came to me in confidence to share the fact that she had been diagnosed with MS at age 41.  She has had multiple heath issues in the past and this was just the last straw for her.  She asked me to keep it "secret" for now while she wrapped her head around it and the barrage of tests she would be doing by year-end.  She is the strongest person I know in terms of working through her pain. She beleives in a "higher power" even though she doesn't identify a specific entity. When I shared this wtih my family we all agreed that it should go to "Jen" not because the $100 we estimated was in the Jar would be of any significant help, but because we wanted her to know that someone cared.  I called her mom and explained about Christmas Jars and that we wanted to give ours to her daughter.  She & I were both in tears at this point and she said, "I don't care if it (Jar) has 2 cents in it, it is wonderful."  We ended up handing it off to her on a street corner so she could put it on her daughter's door step.  I appreciate the privilege my family has had over the past 6 years to add a bit of extra love and caring with the Christmas Jars tradition. Now we can't think of Christmas without one. We've already begun Jar #7.