Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9
“Who will console you after I’m gone?”
Kim Hoffman never wanted to ask her husband that question, but she had just started hospice care after a four-year battle with cancer. She was more concerned with her family’s future than her limited time on Earth. Kim told her sons she would be their guardian angel. Her husband, Daniel, told her that she was the only person who could console him. But he promised Kim that he would dedicate his life to raising their sons. That’s how he would honor her.
Their son, Jerron, is a competitive swimmer. At a swim meet a few years earlier, the family learned the story of Jessie Rees. She was a junior Olympic swimmer who passed away in 2012. She was only 12 years old. Jerron could relate to her passion for swimming at that age. What ended Jessie’s life was brain cancer. The whole family could now relate to that.
Just like Kim, this young girl spent her final days thinking about others: specifically, those who were also suffering from pediatric cancer. Jessie told her father she wanted to help them so she created “Joy Jars,” which she filled with toys and gifts to bring happiness to kids who are surrounded by beeping machines and intravenous tubes.
The Jessie Rees Foundation honors her memory by hosting Joy Jars events across the country and distributing thousands of them to children around the world. Daniel and his boys stuffed jars at one of those events in October. He said they could feel Jessie’s spirit to carry on her mission, and realized helping others was also a beautiful way to honor Kim.
The experience reminded Daniel of a quote from philosopher William James: “The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”
The impact of Jesus Christ most certainly outlasted His 33 years on earth. His mission was focused outward, on loving us. As He said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
This Advent season, let us honor our Lord and Savior by having a servant’s heart. Like Kim and Jessie, we can share God’s love – even in difficult times. We can overcome past sorrows as well, and look to our own future with hope because God gave us the ultimate “Joy Jar” on Christmas.
Ed Doney, Writer/Videographer
(Jessie Rees making Joy Jars, 2011 – negu.org)
