"If I had never been given an X-box, I would have never forgotten to turn it off!"

Norah said this through sobbing tears while being disciplined for forgetting to turn off her X-box... again. (If she doesn't turn the X-box off it will overheat and break so turning it off is a firm rule.)

She was totally devastated, fully convinced the problem was the fact that she had been given an X-box in the first place. If she didn't have the X-box...

I thought about what she was saying for a moment, then I told her, "Well, if we think like that, your dad and I should take all the good things we've ever given you away since you may not do what's right with them."

"No..."

"No. You just need to learn to do what's right with the good things you are given... and you are still learning."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Mom." Norah said with a sniffle and a big hug and a few more tears.

A moment later, we were in the kitchen and the Holy Spirit brought a verse to mind. It came out of nowhere and I could just tell it was important so I stopped and looked up.

"For whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them."

I know this Scripture from memory, but I never really understood it. It was confusing to me that God would take even the little that someone had away from them and leave them with nothing. You can read the whole passage here:

Matthew 25: 14-30

But, as I thought about it, I realized almost immediately that it was no coincidence that that verse came to mind at that moment. It applied to our situation and it was for Norah (and for me) and it spoke perfectly to what we needed.

So, with fear and trembling (because I do not relish "preaching" to anyone, even to my kids), I told her,

"Norah, Jesus teaches us that we should do what's right with the blessings God gives us. He says that if we do what's right with what we have, we will be given even more good things and if we do what's right with those, we will be given even more..."

"Yes." I could tell she was following me.

"But, God says that if we don't do what's right with what He gives us, even the little we have will be taken away from us and we will be left with nothing. So... we have to do what's right with the blessings we have been given. We have no choice, really. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

And, praise God for His guidance, I could tell she really did understand...

and so did I, really understand, for the first time.

I am still learning, too.

"For whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them."