Life is a gift. I want to walk in constant gratitude

Joshua Luke Smith explains how a pair of boots taught him to be grateful for every blessing. No matter how much you have given, you have received more

A few years ago, we spent Christmas with my wife’s parents in Canada. It was a winter wonderland - snow heavy on the ground, lights twinkling on every house. On Christmas morning, my mother-in-law handed me a gift. I hadn’t asked for anything, so I was surprised when I tore off the wrapping paper and gasped. Inside was a pair of Red Wings boots - something I’d dreamed of owning one day but never expected to have anytime soon. I laced them up immediately, strutting around the room in joy.

The only thing I asked for this Christmas, years later, was to have my Red Wings tended to. I took them to a cobbler who passionately told me how he would recondition the leather, repair the stitching, replace the eyeholes, and then resole and dye them. I beamed the entire time. Every winter, when I put them on, I’m reminded of the gift they are to me, and I need only look down at my feet to feel a tide of gratitude rise within me. I couldn’t have afforded those boots, and so their presence in my life is a disruption; it provokes me to remember how little I have contributed and how much I have received. When I walk around with them on, I repeat to myself with each step, “It’s all a gift, it’s all a gift, it’s all a gift.”

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” (1:17) It’s a lofty idea, but one that resonates. I remember when my daughter…