Counting Other People's Blessings

Tonight we read the parable of the workers in the vineyard. (Matthew 20:1-16) Oh so fitting for us. The workers who worked all day received the payment they had agreed to at the beginning at the beginning of the day. But the guys who only worked an hour got paid the same amount. And so we talked about it... I told them the (true) story of ten kids at Christmas who all received many MANY gifts and they were all very happy with the gifts they received. Until one of the kids started counting the number that each kid had received. He only got three. Everyone else got five or six. Suddenly, he wasn't happy anymore. I reminded Archer of something that just happened within the last few days, he was keeping track of the number of times Shelly got to have a sleepover with Grandma Sue, and comparing it to his number. "Oh yeah," Archer said, making the connection with his own behavior and the other stories we'd discussed. And then I had them each tell me what two things we learned - we're satisfied with what we have; we don't keep track of other people's blessings. "Except," says Archer, "we can keep track of WHERE they are." Meaning, so he can help Shelly find her toys. Leave it to my smart son to find a way to have the last word!