Giving Thanks

"Let's pray," I say to my toddler, Hannah, as four-month-old Ben cries in the other room.
"Dear God," she begins, "Thank you for the day. Thank you for the food. Thank you for Mama and Daddy..."
"And Baby Ben?" I prompt her.
"And the books, and the chair, and the stroller..." she rambles on, refusing to thank God for her grumpy little brother.
Finally, I give up. "In Jesus name," I say.
"AMEN!" she proclaims, ready to enjoy her breakfast.
I chuckle at her tiny rebellion against this fussy tyrant who steals so much of her Mama's attention. But I realize that I sometimes behave just like my two year old. I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
"Thank me for your past," God says.
"Of course, God. I have so many good memories."
"Thank me for the heartache, for wounds and betrayals, for times of lonliness so intense that even I seemed far away, for even then I was with you, and I used those times to make you the person you are today."
Like my daughter, I would rather change the subject, thanking God for the weather, for my children, for the obvious good in my life. As my daughter devours her banana cereal, I take a brief moment to thank God for everything he gives, especially for my rebellious toddler and for grumpy Baby Ben.