The Christmas Shoes Song

Since the holiday season of 2003, I’ve been hearing The Christmas Shoes by NewSong playing on the radio at times every year. Due to the song being slow and not bangy, most of the lyrics are easy to make out.

The Christmas Shoes by NewSong

It was almost Christmas time
And there I stood in another line
Trying to buy that last gift or two
Not really in the Christmas mood

Standin right in front of me was a
Little boy waiting anxiously
Pacin around like little boys do
And in his hands he held
A pair of shoes

And His clothes were worn and old
He was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn’t believe what I heard him say

Sir I wanna buy these shoes
For my mama please
It’s Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry sir?
Daddy says there’s not much time
You see, she’s been sick for quite a while
And I, know these shoes will make her smile
And I, Want her to look beautiful If mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like years then the
Cashier said, "Son, there’s not enough here."
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me he said
"Mama made Christmas good at our house, though
Most years she just did without, Tell me sir,
What am I gonna do?
Some how I gotta buy her these Christmas shoes."

So I laid the money down
I just had to help him out
And I’ll never forget the look on his face when he said,
"Mama’s gonna look so great."

I knew I’d caught a glimpse of heaven’s love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me what Christmas is all about

I want her to look beautiful
If mama meets Jesus, tonight

Now in December 2009, I learned form several sites that The Christmas Shoes was inspired by a story, Golden Shoes for Jesus, written by Helga Schmidt in the 1970s:

It was only four days before Christmas. The spirit of the season had not yet caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our local discount store. Inside the store was worse. Shopping carts and last-minute shoppers jammed the aisles.

Buying for someone who had everything and deploring the high cost of items, I considered gift buying anything but fun.

Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last-minute items and proceeded to the long checkout lines. I picked the shortest, but it looked as if it would mean at least a 20 minutes wait.

In front of me were two small children – a boy of about five and a slightly younger girl. She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house-slippers. As the Christmas music sounded in the store’s stereo system, the small girl hummed along, off-key, but happily.

When we finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a treasure.

The clerk rang up the bill. "That will be $6.09," she said.

The boy laid his crumpled bills atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. "I guess we’ll have to put them back," he bravely announced. "We’ll come back some other time, maybe tomorrow."

With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. "But Jesus would have loved those shoes." she cried.

"Well, we’ll go home and work some more. Don’t cry, we’ll come back." he assured her.

Quickly I handed $3.00 to the clerk. These children waited in line for a long time. And after all, it was Christmas.

Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice said, "Thank you lady."

"What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?" I asked.

The boy answered, "Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus."

The girl spoke, "My sunday school teacher said the streets up in heaven are shiny gold, just like these slippers. Won’t my mommy be beautiful walking on those streets to match these shoes?"

My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear-streaked face. "Yes," I answered, "I’m sure she will."

Silently I thanked God for using these children to remind me of the true spirit of giving.

Somehow, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you

NewSong wrote and first performed the song in 2001, and it became a hit. A book and movie based on the song followed it.

I like the touching song, but I try not to listen to it too much, because every time I hear it I get near to tears. It reminds me of my departed loved ones as well as others who have lost their lives to terminal illness. The tearjerking story also makes us aware that there are many people suffering, even during holidays, as well as the real purpose and significance of Christmas, which is the birth of Jesus.

Here is a music video of the song with lyrics:

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If it doesn’t work, you can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKOfM42HERY