Ephesians 5:20: “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
If parenting came with a manual, Section 2 would be titled “Say Thank You.” It’s one of the first things we teach our toddlers to communicate. We teach our kids to do it in their bedtime prayers to God. When my concrete thinking, young daughters get on a roll, their prayers can resemble a Target shopping list: “God, thank you for Beanie Boos, toast, spoons, bananas, pillows…”
It’s always fun to hear their little hearts on gratitude overdrive. I wish their gratefulness could always come so easy, but life happens and fear-inducing unknowns trip us up. How do we teach our kids to be thankful even when life doesn’t go their way and takes unexpected turns? Learning the tools of gratitude in the face of the unknown is something we can model as parents, and is a gift to our children with lifetime benefits.
First, practice the language of gratitude like Mary. God didn’t hand Mary detailed outlines of her life when he passed along the news she was giving birth to the Son of God. Fear must’ve pressed hard at her faith, but we can learn a lot by looking at her reaction in Luke 1:38: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Mary’s words show a surrendered heart toward God. She was ready to be used by God because she trusted Him over her fears. In our home we often use statements like, “God made us and loves us. We trust and follow Him even when we don’t understand what is happening.” Words like these of surrender and willingness breed hearts and minds of gratitude before God.
A second practical tool comes from Ephesians 5:18-20: “...Be filled with the Holy Spirit singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Reading those verses side-by-side shows how thankfulness is a cycle that begins and ends with God’s presence in our lives, His Spirit in us and His Son sent here for us. We practice giving thanks in every situation by doing just that, speaking and thinking words of thanks. I’m no singer but I can read through texts like Psalm 138 with my kids, and we’re all reminded that gratitude is a choice and act and a tool we all have at our disposal in every circumstance.
You can follow more of Faith & Family columnist Jena Meyerpeter’s writings at UnravelGrace.com.