Growing a Heart that Gives Thanks

I know this isn't the appropriate time to be talking about thankfulness. I mean, Thanksgiving was over three months ago! But we were talking about its importance in my home today and so it led to my pondering it, which led to a blog post. :)

The fact is, if I want to instill the importance of being thankful in my children, I must be thankful myself. All the time. It is more than just teaching them the proper and polite words to say when someone gives them a gift or shares their toy, it is to be a constant attitude of the heart. I don't want my sons to have the thanks squeezed out of them through gritted teeth, I want it to flow naturally from their lips because their hearts are already bubbling with it. But how does it get there? How do I teach the process of being thankful in all things? How do I display that to them?

I think that the best way for them to become grateful people is by watching Mommy and Daddy be grateful people. It's also vital that they see us being grateful to God. What is the value of thankfulness if it is not shown to come from the "Giver of all things"?  I am learning that the best way to display this (and train myself at the same time!) is to continually, vocally, thank God throughout my day. As we walk, "Aren't those clouds beautiful? Who made the clouds?" To which my oldest son responds, "God did, Mommy." And I respond, "That's right," and, "Thank you, God, for these pretty clouds!" As we play, "Wow! You're getting so strong!" and, "Thank you, God, for giving us strong arms and muscles." As we watch the rain fall, "Did you know that God sends the rain, honey? It helps the plants grow. What beautiful, cleansing rain!" and, "Thank you, God, for sending rain!" It is so easy for me to keep these thankful thoughts to myself, or even more telling, pass by them altogether. In God's grace, He has reminded me that these little beings I have been entrusted with are only small for a short while. There is not much time for the foundation of thankfulness to be laid. Even more importantly, he has shown me in His word that His peace is to rule in my heart, and simply to "be thankful." (Colossians 3:15) He also states more plainly that whatever I am doing, everything I am doing, I should be giving thanks in it to Him. (Colossains 3:17) If I would focus on that, truly being thankful to the God who knows my name and loves me still, I shouldn't have to remind myself to speak it aloud to my children. I should thank God as I change diapers, wash dishes, and fold clothes. I should be verbal in my thanks in all things so that my children see my honest heart and want to follow accordingly.

What you don't know is that lately in our home, somebody has been attacked by the "Go away!" bug. Its symptoms are frequent bursts of "Go away!" which are repeated over and over, until Mommy intervenes. The words are usually directed at baby brother who is sometimes guilty of an offense, and sometimes not. But, what an opporunity for me to teach gratefulness! "My sweetie, did Jesus tell the little children to 'go away'?" And he looks down and responds, "No." And so I say, "You're right. Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me! And so if Jesus loves us, how can we not show love to baby brother? Did you know that he is our special gift from Jesus? I think we should thank God for your brother right now. What do you think?" To which he smiles slowly and says, "Yeah!" Okay, so while this may be a type of example, it certainly does not display every opportunity in our home. There are many moments where I miss the ball, and there are times in which the response is not so positive. But I was so thankful that God allowed that moment to happen because it encouraged me to "press on" in this challenge of parenting and not compromise important truths for the easy path.

I believe if we are to look at all of life's challenges first through the lens of thankfulness to God, we may begin to see His hand in those circumstances. And that in itself becomes a blessing, right? Oh, that I would show my children that being thankful is an everyday, every moment choice we make. It's not just a once-a-year day when we get to stuff ourselves silly and watch football.