[mashshare]

Imagine the most selfish person you knew growing up.

Now picture me.

I win.

For most of my life, the world has revolved my wants and needs, particularly during the holidays.

I think I’ve often used my experiences with grief as a selfish, wooden crutch. The longer I lean, the more splinters I get to pull.

Then, ten years ago, I had an awakening.

Late one evening in October of 2004, I sat beside my wife in our quiet living room and pitched an idea. In the meandering discussion, I said aloud what I suspected she already knew: I was self-centered, and because of it, the green and gold holidays had become a gray and blue fog.

Sure, the mood brightened a bit on Christmas day, but then I hastily packed it up with the extra wrapping paper and stored it in the basement closet. Christmas had become a 24-hour holiday and I needed to change.

Little did I know that it was exactly that – change – that would change me.

In that simple conversation, I suggested we place an empty mason jar on our kitchen counter and fill it with our spare pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Every day when we came home from school, work, the grocery store, or the dry cleaner, each member of the family would drop our change in the jar.

As we did, we would pause and take a moment to think about the Savior, the needs of someone else, and what the word ‘give’ really means.

Finally, when Christmas Eve arrived, we would carefully select a family to give the jar to anonymously.

My wife loved the idea, and before we said goodnight, a pickle jar was washed and placed on the counter.

Over the next eight weeks it slowly rose, like a tide of colorful copper, zinc, and nickel.

Trust me: when coins clink and clank in a jar, the sound is magical. Christmas was happening in our home every single day.

On Christmas Eve we chose a family a few neighborhoods away and dingdong ditched a jar with almost $100 on their porch. Not enough to change their lives, but enough to send a message.

We see you. We love you.

The joy of giving rode home with us in the mini-van and never went away. I believe that for the first time in their young lives, my young children knew what Christmas was all about.

Who am I kidding, for the first time in my life, I knew what Christmas was all about, too.

So much has unfolded in the ten years since. One more baby joined the jar delivery gang. A New York Times best-selling novel was published – Christmas Jars – that changed our lives and launched the writing career I’d always dreamt about.

Most importantly, many more Christmas Jars have been given away by my gang and thousands more like you around the world. Incredibly, the little book has become a big movement.

We estimate based on the number of books sold, the true stories submitted to the website, and the average amount per jar ($200), the Christmas Jars movement has given away over $15,000,000 in spare change.

Families of all colors, shapes and sizes have prayed for miracles and rose from their worn-out knees to hear knocks at their doors and to discover shadows racing down the street. Looking down, these faithful souls find plump jars of coins on their front steps.

Over the coming days, these jars will be given away to families with all kinds of needs: spiritual, emotional and, of course, financial. But as I always say, it’s not what comes out of the jar that matters most – it’s what goes in.

As the movement celebrates it’s 10th birthday, I invite you to take the challenge and experiment with a Christmas Jar today. I promise that no matter the time of year, the temperature outside, or the size of the jar, you’ll find yourself thinking about the needs of another.

It’s not too late for 2014! Your neighboor bank teller will gladly convert a few bills to a few more heavy rolls of coins.

Take it from someone with a little bit of Christmas Jars history. This simple tradition has helped me discover that it’s possible to celebrate Christmas every single day of the year.

Merry Christmas Jars!

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