Our Pact-Vine & Branches

While we wait for news of our children, we continue to practice our Russian and talk lots about how we want to parent. I think it is important to chronicle a pact we made with each other a couple nights ago. My work is with teens and I see the results of lots of different parenting styles. We happened to be talking about a couple of children I know who could really use some counseling, but in both cases the parents refuse to go with their child to counseling. In one case, the parents don't even want to take their child to counseling at all and in the other the parents are willing to take their child to be "fixed" but don't want to go themselves. We surmise that they don't want to hear anything that might cause them to have to change or challenge themselves. Ken and I said that we certainly understand the hesitancy of people to face themselves. It certainly is difficult. Nonetheless, we made a pact with each other to be open to seeking whatever help our children might need and to be willing to challenge change in ourselves if that is what is needed. Our children will always come first. God is about to grace us with a special gift of parenthood and we don't want to take that gift for granted. The Lord is the vine and we are the branches. We are expecting that some pruning may be in order and are praying to be ready for the challenge. John 15:1-2 says: "I am the vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more."