This is a religious post. Please don’t read it if it will offend you.

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Last Friday was the Feast of St Paul and St Peter. We were at the lunchtime mass at Westminster Cathedral, London, and the homily was about the two men. The mass was short and sweet (30 minutes) and the message short and simple.

Our Lord chose St Paul to be the rock that He built His church on. Yet Paul betrayed Him. Jesus knew that the man he had chosen to be a rock was flawed, yet He still chose Paul.

St Peter was the preacher, and he struggled with his faith many times. He wasn’t someone who believed in Jesus and His message blindly.  Yet Jesus still chose him.

This is how I interpret this part of the Bible in my parenting path:

As parents, we are like St Paul, the rock on which our children build their future on.  We have to be strong and stable for them, the earth beneath their young, stumbling feet. We have to be there for them always, no matter how old they are.  

But with the exception of being the rock, we have to accept our fallibility as human beings: just because we are parents, that doesn’t automatically elevate us to perfection. We still make mistakes. And we learn from them.  So don’t pretend to your children that you are always right and infallible. One day, they will know that this is a lie.

What you have as parents as the Authority of Love, and it is this Love that will guide you through your sea of mistakes during your parenting years.

As for lesson from St Peter, the preacher, faith is a struggle. So is love. It can’t be sunny days and easy times all our lives. It is easy to love when the times are good.

But struggle is part of the journey for everyone, and how we face our struggles determine the quality of our lives. Pull together as a family, support each other, grow strong together instead of tearing each other apart. Raise our children to face their struggles with strength and equanimity, and with faith.

Especially in personal relationships, have faith and hold on to that Love in difficult and painful times, when it is easier to lash out and hurt the other, destroying and damaging something precious just because of bad times.  I strongly believe that children have to be taught this: that we don’t wantonly hit back for that momentary satisfaction of hurting those who hurt us (natural reaction).

And speak Love always ❤