A Rich Life of Gratitude

In a letter dated September 13, 1943—five months after his imprisonment for opposing the Nazi regime—Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote his parents. He asked for books and paper. He thanked them for the ways they’d helped him, and said, “It’s a strange feeling to be so completely dependent on other people; but at least it teaches one to be grateful, and I hope I shall never forget that.