The Candy Jar One of my earliest memories of God's hand in my life was when I was in fifth grade. Our school was having a "guess how many pieces of candy in the candy jar" fundraiser; two guesses for 25¢. Along with about every other kid in my school, I wrote down my guesses and paid my quarter (a hefty investment for an 11-year-old!) A few days later we were sitting in class and the principal's announcement came over the speaker system. He said our school had a winner, someone who guessed the number right-on-the-nose, and he would be surprising the winner "in person" in his or her classroom momentarily. Excitement buzzed in the air. Every kid wanted to win that candy jar. The "Candy Jar" was a big deal at my school. As friends talked among themselves at their desks, I said a prayer in my head. I said to God, "God, I would really like to win that candy jar. But I only want to win it if that's what you want to happen. Amen." A big prayer for a little girl! Within moments, our classroom door opened, and there stood our principal. Our classroom buzz turned into an intense roar. Someone from our class had won. Our principal smiled at everyone sitting at their desks and walked toward me. He plopped that huge container of candy on my desk and I look at him in disbelief. He said "You won the candy jar! Exactly 427 pieces!" He smiled at my humble reaction and joked that I would be the most popular girl in the school for the rest of the week. I learned very early to ask for the desires of my heart while submitting to God's will for my life. I believe Jesus was smiling down on me as I learned that lesson that day, and I enjoyed my fleeting popularity and my sweet reward from heaven. Back