In the Vine

I had the amazing opportunity to teach a child dedication class with Jason the other night. I never in a million years would have thought I would get the chance to do this. It was so interesting how these people all said that having children, made them want to be better people, and closer to God. I know Jason had a huge debate on his blog regarding reasons to come to Christ, but I must say it would be an oversight not to put children on the list. Becoming responsible for something so small, and helpless, can many times take our hearts (that God has been working on) break them to the point of utter humility, and readiness for Christ.
But that is really not what I wanted to talk about. In my research for this class I came to the conclusion that God does not have a lot to say about parenting in His word, because He has no need to. If we simply remain in Him as it says in Galatians then we will gain the fruits of the spirit. Put any one of the fruits of the spirit in front of parent and you are doing it right. Like, Patient Parent, Joyful Parent, Gentle Parent and so on. Self-help books are great, but nothing is going to make stellar parents, better than remaining in the Vine. So why is it easier to pick up a Dr. Phil book, than to remain in Christ? I believe because there is nothing the enemy would like more than for us, out of our own will, to fall on our faces when we try to change our own character. We have so many options at hand. Every news show, magazine, and family member has a new fangled approach to becoming a better parent. However, it seems to me, it is back to the basics, back to our first love, the one who created us and our children, the one who paid attention to each detail when making a place for us to live. Is this easy? No having a relationship with an invisible God, within the context of a visible world, is hard! I believe, and have experienced that in His huge hands He holds the solution to every puzzle, He holds the medicine for every illness, He holds the secret ingredient to heal every broken heart. I have a picture of sitting in these big hands, inspecting each thing He holds. He says, "I am enough, I have all you need." And to my amazement He does.