“Yes,” my husband, Dan, replied. “If you’re hungry, that’s what’s for dinner. Your mother is not fixing everyone separate meals.”

Emma and my nine-year-old son, Jack, had been doing a lot of complaining lately, and frankly I was tired of it. They complained about the meals I served, their toys, their clothes, our family rules. So after the kids were in bed, Dan and I talked about how we could teach the kids to stop complaining and be more grateful. We knew the Lord wanted all of us to be grateful for the blessings He has given us.

I began to realize that I did more than my fair share of complaining. I complained about waiting in line at the grocery store, driving a well-used car, my wardrobe, the low speed limit on Clarkson Road. Yet each of these is an example of my heavenly Father’s love and provision—abundant choices at the grocery store, a car that runs, plenty of clothes, and rules for my protection, not to mention a healthy family and many other blessings.

Being a parent to a complaining child can give us a little insight into how God feels when we are ungrateful. In Exodus the Israelites witnessed God perform incredible miracles: the plagues, deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea. Yet they complained. When God sent them manna, they demanded meat. We’re really not much different on most days. And if “His anger burned” against them (Num. 11:1), as ours does at times against ungrateful children, we should know why our calling is to be thankful in all things (Eph. 5:18–20).