At the end of May 2013, I lost my teaching job due to budget cuts. I was unable to get a teaching job for that fall, but I was able to collect unemployment.

Just before Christmas, I found out that I would no longer receive unemployment because the extension of benefits was not included in the federal budget. This put a lot of pressure on my husband, who was in a commission-only paying job.

In mid-August 2014, the pressure was just too great, and he was let go from his job. The pressure had also caused my husband to have medical issues which caused him to be hospitalized for a week in November. Thankfully, he has been able to get unemployment during this time, and I am working for a friend parttime, but we are still struggling.

However, last night, December 3, 2014, we came home from church to find a box sitting on our front steps.

I had a hard time lifting it, so I asked my husband to help.

My son Ethan, who is four, was very excited to begin opening the gift. In the box was a gift bag filled with all sorts of treats for him: two activity books, two candy-filled candy canes, a box of candy canes, a reading book, and a paper bag that was very heavy.

We opened the paper bag to find a gallon-sized pickle jar filled with change, the book Christmas Jars, and a gift card for a local gas station.

I cried as I looked at what God had laid on someone's heart and mind to give us. I took the jar to the bank this morning where the teller thought I was just bringing in shopping money. I was able to share the story with her, two other tellers, and the manager.

They had chills as I shared the story

The first teller put the change into the counter. A few seconds later, she came back with three more gift cards and a roll of cash. Her words to me were, "Someone must love you very much."

I cried again, and even as I sit here at work, typing my story, I am crying. I am also excited to see what we are able to give to someone else next year. We have been blessed beyond measure, and "thank you" seems so inadequate.

-Rachel Rice

This article is a true story and excerpt from the book, "Christmas Jars: Collectors Edition." You can read more stories here.

The post ‘They had chills as I shared the story;’ after months of unemployment, woman finds THIS on her steps appeared first on FamilyToday.

To the group of teenagers at Primary Children's Hospital seven years ago:

On December 12th, 2008, you touched my life for the better. I was surrounded by loved ones in one of the waiting rooms at Primary Children's Hospital when I saw a group of you, just young teenagers, walking through the halls.

You were giggling and being a little suspicious

You walked up to me and set a big jar of money on my lap and said "Merry Christmas" before rushing away. I don't remember how much money was in the jar and I don't remember what all of you looked like. But I do remember the smiles on your faces and how you made me and everyone else in that waiting room feel.

I'm Forever Grateful

I'll never know why you decided to pick me when you must have walked passed countless others you could have given it to, but I'm forever grateful you chose me.

You didn't know this, but at that very moment, my precious two-day-old baby was undergoing a lifesaving surgery to fix a birth defect.

It was a hard and scary day for us, filled with a lot of uncertainty and worry. I want you to know that you were our angels that day. You were our light in the dark and our good in the bad. You turned a negative experience into a positive one. You helped us experience the kind of joy that can only be felt during a hard time.

We were spending our Christmas season in a hospital a couple hours away from home, away from most loved ones, and away from everything else that makes Christmas feel like Christmas, and yet, I've never felt the spirit of Christmas as much as I did that year. You did that for me.

You see, it was never about the money to us. It was about the fact that you made us feel something that no amount of money can buy. You taught us that the gift of service can change a trial into a blessing. I don't think there is anything you can do for another person greater than that.

It's been seven years, but I think about all of you often

I have always wanted to tell you how much your kindness meant to us and how grateful we are for each of you. We have been able to tell many people about your kindness and we pay it forward as often as we can. The baby that was in surgery that day-his name is Krew, and we are proud to say he is a happy and healthy little boy. Nothing would make us more proud than to see him grow up to be the kind of teenager you were that day. We all know how much the world needs people like you right now. You are the ones that truly make the world a brighter place.

I hope this message somehow finds you, and I sincerely hope that whatever trials have come and will come into your life, you will be blessed in the same way you helped bless us.

-Love, Ashley

_This article is a true story and excerpt from the book, "Christmas Jars: Collectors Edition." You can read more stories here.

The post To the teenagers in the hospital the night my two-day-old baby was in surgery: you’ll never know what you did appeared first on FamilyToday.