One day, I was not so patiently trying to coax my kids into cleaning their rooms. I hit my limit on tolerating the mess in my house. 

My kids are young, so cleaning is still very much a learning process for them and a chore for me. As we were cleaning, I was getting frustrated with the process, so I began making threats:

“Ok guys, you have thirty minutes to clean your room. If your room isn’t clean in thirty minutes, I’m throwing away all the toys that are still on the floor!”

By this point, my kids were so tired of cleaning, each of their responses were about the same. They decided they would rather throw away their toys than have to pick up them up. One of my kids even said, “It’s okay mom, you can throw our toys away. We can get more later.”

As I was thinking about the idea of gratitude, this situation came to my mind. I remember, in that moment thinking, “With that attitude I’ll never buy you another toy again!” Obviously God is so much more patient than we are. He is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” (Psalm 145:8) However, I do believe my attitude toward what He gives me, makes room for Him to give me more. If I am ungrateful for the things He has already blessed me with or I hide them away and don’t steward them well, then why would He give me more? Just as with the parable of the talents, the master asked each servant what they had done with what they had been given. The master was pleased with the two servants who stewarded their talents well, but the one who hid his talent away angered the master. Jesus ends the parable saying, "To everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but for the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away." (Matthew 25:29)

When I think about the “talents” my Master has entrusted to me...the greatest one is my children.

Children are one of the few gifts I will enjoy on this earth and in eternity. “Behold children are a gift of the Lord.” (Psalm 127:3) Everything I invest into my children like discipline or equipping them with life skills or sacrificing my time to be with them is my way of taking my talents and increasing them. One day when I stand before the Lord, He will say, “well done good and faithful servant; you were faithful over little, I will make you ruler over much.” What will heaven look like for me when I show gratitude for what He has entrusted me with on this earth?

As you enter into this Thanksgiving season, maybe you are struggling with feeling grateful. Maybe you are tired or frustrated. Maybe you had an attitude of gratitude, but have lost perspective along the way. Maybe you are extremely grateful and need to speak encouragement.  

Wherever you are right now, it’s not too late to take your talents, and with a grateful heart, invest and watch as God opens the windows of heaven and entrusts you with so much more.