Christmas Jar Story: 'We still struggle with the tears'

Perhaps more than any Christmas Jars story I've ever received, this one reminded me of my dad and how we felt 22 years ago this week when he passed on. Much like for this wonderful woman, the Christmas Jar has been a blessing for my family to remember the struggles of others when usually it's much easier to focus on our own heartache.

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Last November I lost the most wonderful and loving husband to cancer. I have been given the awesome task of raising righteously our seven beautiful children, ages 14-2. We miss him horribly, you could not find a more devoted husband and daddy.

We still struggle with the tears, they will surely flow for years to come. But this, the second Christmas season without Duane we needed to try and focus on others and not just our own sorrow.

That is when the Christmas Jar popped into my mind! As much as we still mourn for our father/husband I know others out there too are struggling with their own sorrow, poverty, or loneliness. Thank you for the inspiration, for sharing your talent with the world, for listening to the spirit and writing the Christmas Jars.