What is your heart’s immediate response when you read the verse above? Do you agree that children really are a gift from the Lord, a reward? To ask the question more pointedly, would you say that your children are a gift or a reward from the Lord for you personally…or do you feel as if this is just a nice sentiment meant for someone else?

You might be thinking, Yes, some of my kids are gifts, but not that child! Or is your response a more emphatic, tear-drenched, “No!”? Maybe your sorrows have made you more cynical and you’re beginning to wonder just what God means when He uses the words “gift” and “reward.” Or perhaps you can remember a time when you did believe that your children were a gift, during those days when they were little and first smiled up at you with their sweet toothless grins. But now, darker images of angry, spiteful, and bitter words have obscured those beloved memories.