The parenting lesson from Easter

Easter has just passed - and whether you're one to celebrate Easter or not, I wanted to share a beautiful lesson I've learnt from Easter.

This isn't meant to be a blasphemous post, nor do I want to offend anyone. It is just my take on the Easter story.

Growing up with a strong Catholic influence, I was taught that Jesus died for our sins and sacrificed his life for Love.

I was also taught that God sacrificed his only son for Love.

And, as you can imagine, I grew up with a narrative around Love where feelings of shame, guilt and unworthiness were at the forefront.

From this programming, I also believed that when we love someone, there will be suffering, and there is sacrifice.

About a year ago, I was deep in meditation, and I get this download.

"Jesus never died. His body may have perished - and "HE" never died. Jesus, knowing the truth of who he is, which is Love, knew that he is infinite. Because Love is truth, and love is infinite.

Jesus is Love, and Love is truth. Love is infinite - and cannot die.

And in Love, there is no suffering. In Love, there is no sacrifice." 

The symbolism for me was knowing that we are more than our bodies. We are so much more than our bodies - and yes, we are here to experience the body, we are here to experience humanity, and in our "truth", we're infinite spiritual beings.

When Jesus rose from the dead three days after the death of his physical body, this was a demonstration for us to be reminded, when you know who you are, and who you are in truth is Love, who you are in truth is Infinite. "You" cannot die.

The other key message and understanding I got from this monumental event in the Catholic calendar is this: Love liberates.

Love liberates us from believing we are stuck and that we are stagnant.

And in essence, each time we choose Love, each time we turn to love and live from love - we are facing death.

Every time we choose Love - it is the death of the past, the death of our attachments, the death of what we know to be true.

And so, in being able to have Love liberate us, we are to surrender to the deepest and darkest depths of ourselves.

And when I say surrender, I don't mean, give in to, but I mean surrender, as in to observe and allow whatever emotions come up.

The limitations and beliefs we have held onto are facing death.

Love liberates. Love transcends. Love transforms. Love expands.

And in Love, we are to let go of the old.

And finally, the most powerful lesson from Easter is this.

God didn't sacrifice his son for Love. Jesus didn't sacrifice his life for our sins because of Love.

What he was demonstrating was that we are so much more than this body, and when we choose Love, or when we choose to believe in that Higher Power and believe in the Divinity within us, we can transcend anything.

So then, when it comes to parenting, how does this all relate? What is the significance?

The biggest lesson that I've learned from Easter that we can like take into our parenting is this.

In Love, there is no sacrifice.

I hear many parents talk about how much they sacrifice and how much they give up.

And I get it! I get that it can feel that way.....But if we genuinely want to have our children thrive and for us to thrive as parents, the myth that "parenting is about sacrifice" has to die.

When we continue to live out the belief that we are sacrificing, it's impossible to have fulfilment, and it's impossible to have joy.

Because in Love, there is no suffering. In Love, there is no sacrifice.

Each time we collapse, suffering and sacrifice as an action coming from Love, we face a crazy predicament.

It doesn't reconcile in our heart, it doesn't reconcile in our mind, and so then we get stuck, get frustrated, get hijacked by our anger, and get hijacked by our triggers.

I believe that every parent wants to be the best parent they can be for their children.

And in parenting, there are moments that we will feel out of our depth.

And when we're out of our depth, the last thing that would help us and empower us to liberate from being hijacked is finding the solution from a place of believing that parenting is about suffering and sacrifice.

The only thing that will free us from our limitations in parenting, our triggers, our frustrations, our resentments is when we choose Love.

If parenting is consumed with sacrifice, survival and suffering, and we think that we just got to continue on this path - we continue to feed into the disconnection we feel in being a parent.

And we continue to believe that this is the way that life is.

But that's not why we became a parent.

God didn't sacrifice his only son for Love. Jesus didn't sacrifice his life for Love. 

We didn't become a parent to suffer, survive, and sacrifice our life for the Love of something greater.

Love, meaning sacrifice and suffering, is NOT a message I'm passing on.

It's a message I'm here to heal. 

I hope you are too.