Every year I look forward to switching the radio station I listen to in the car from NPR to KOSI-101.1 in Denver and I listen to the Christmas music. It is delightful.
And, I was quite surprised to hear that the song, Christmas shoes by Newsong, is the station’s most requested song.
I wondered why this was and suddenly got a lot of insight. It can bring tears to my eyes many times and a KOSI DJ said it always makes her cry. I thought about this on my long drive home from work and realized that the characters in this story, like the Christmas story, are all about us and our journey to wholeness.
First, here are the words and then my thoughts about it are after the lyrics.
~CHRISTMAS SHOES~
By Newsong
“Christmas Shoes”
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 And 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 beleive 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 They counted penny’s 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 and 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.” 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 I knew I’d caught a glimpse of heaven’s love as he thanked me and ran out I knew that God had sent me that little boy to remind me what Christmas is all about 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 I Want her to look beautiful If mama meets Jesus tonight
Top of Form
A Metaphysical interpretation(that is, what it means inside of YOU!) Let us look at these elements from the song:
The busy shopper
He said he had forgotten the meaning of Christmas and that he was not in a Christmas mood. The busy shopper represents our busy mind that continually keeps us from the true meaning of Christmas. At the end of song, he realized the truth: the little boy had given him a glimpse of Heaven’s love. That is a glimpse of why we are here: To bring love to earth as only each one of can.
The little Boy
The little boy is seeking to get his mama something to prepare her to “meet Jesus tonight”. It is Christmas eve, in a sense, those of us who celebrate Christmas are all preparing to meet Jesus or partake of his teachings every Christmas eve. The song tells us that she has been sick; in a sense, when are not connected to the Truth of who we are, we are not well.
The truest meaning comes as we look at the meaning of the mother.
The Mama
There is within all of us the mother of the Christ child. This part of us, our feminine nature, also represents our heart. When not blocked by the busy mind, our heart is always open to the Christ child bringing a new understanding of our worth; and thus the shoes will make her “look beautiful”. The little boy wants to buy her shoes.
Metaphysically, our feet mean understanding and the little boy as the Christ Child is seeking to bring his mother a symbol of love by bringing a new covering for her feet. That is to bring her a new understanding of who she truly is.
In summary, the busy male shopper represents our active mind, our thinking nature. Always active, seeking to move us through life, but too busy to stop and really see what the purpose of life is. The Mama, who has not been well, represents our heart that has not been opened lately because the busy mind takes over and keeps us from connecting with our heart.
The little boy can be seen as the Christ Child or our inner child that represents our preciousness and innocence. This part of us is always seeking to connect our mind and our heart with new understanding; it seeks to bring “new shoes”, to our heart, again represented by the mother. In this gift of new understanding, our mind and heart are re-connected and we are then able to receive the true gift of what Jesus taught: the gift of love on earth.