Last week, we attended the 50th Euro-American Retreat in Rothenburg, Germany. We spent four days singing praises to God, learning deeper lessons on Renewing, Reflecting, and Remembering, and hearing from missionaries doing His work all over Europe, all against the beautiful backdrop of a medieval village. On the last full day of the retreat, the ladies had a small get-together. We had a break from the kids and time to share with other women, give and receive encouragement, and just BE for a small window of time. One consistent theme was, “How do I balance giving my children the time they need AND being a student of the Word?” An older woman, with years of mission experience, said, “Your children are your talents. Invest in them now. The rest will take care of itself. If you don’t take the time with them now, they won’t give you the time when they are older.” Her words stayed with me. In Jesus’ parable, a talent was a large sum of money, something of great value entrusted to a servant. The servants were expected to use what they had been given for the benefit of their master. In that sense, her words struck me: our children are our talents. Our children are gifts entrusted to our care by the Heavenly Father. Their value is beyond comprehension. In our eyes, they are priceless. How much more so to the God who created them? He expects us to teach our children about Him, how to follow Him, and how to serve Him by serving others. How can they learn without our time, example, and teaching? God’s instruction to Israel paints a picture of that kind of investment. His words were to be impressed upon their children and discussed throughout ordinary life: at home, along the road, at bedtime, and in the morning (Deuteronomy 6:6–7). Teaching our children about God isn’t separate from spending time with them. Much of that teaching happens because we spend time with them. Last week, I received so many compliments on my children. My talkative, mini-adult five-year-old impressed adults with his ability to have big conversations. I tried to delight more in him and appreciate that stage rather than getting caught up in all the things we struggled with daily. Because of his talents and intelligence, I often had to remind myself that he is only five and sometimes simply acts like a five-year-old. My baby girl had a difficult trip while getting her first-year molars. Still, people continually encouraged me about what a good baby she was. The encouragement came from moms my age, older women, and even a young woman who was neither married nor a mom. This young woman blessed me with the following words: “I read an article once that said a congregation with no babies crying is dying.” What a big job! We are raising the future of the church. I pray we are each up to the task, that we invest now, and that we trust God to continue blessing our lives with others who will encourage, teach, admonish, and help us along the way.