{"id":2583,"date":"2021-02-26T07:41:32","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T13:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/?p=2583"},"modified":"2021-02-26T09:29:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T15:29:40","slug":"amazing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/?p=2583","title":{"rendered":"amazing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life has brought the awful, amazing and appalling this season. Sometimes, all-together, in one<\/em> day.<\/p>\n

As I cry (read sob uncontrollably while alone in my car or closet)<\/em>, and process all this pain with more layers than I can even begin to describe, as I’m in the midst of all the awful, I also experience amazing grace.<\/p>\n

I was raised with “hold it together”, “keep it together”, “don’t lose your shit” but the real meaning of those statements is that I was to keep up appearances<\/em>. It was alright if I came unglued alone, in private<\/em> but I best not let it be seen…ever.<\/p>\n

I never wanted to raise my kids with that. I wanted them to be completely free to express themselves.<\/p>\n

I signed them up for play therapy when they were younger. I created and bought journals so they could draw, doodle, write thoughts and prayers. I took them on walks and to the park to enjoy time in nature.<\/p>\n

I created a gratitude jar, so that we could see and say<\/em> the good – even in the middle of deep pain. I believe grief and gratitude coexist. I pray with them (if they want). I sing and dance with them (as best I can!)…still, I was unknowingly<\/em> placing the very same burden that I grew up with, on my kids.<\/p>\n

This realization led me to be very intentional in changing course. I genuinely did not want to raise my kids with that same stress. I sought out help through books, therapy and emotional training classes. I began redirecting myself; I started being and creating a safe space for my kids to simply be.<\/em><\/p>\n

About four years ago, after intentionally working on myself, in every area, I received the greatest compliment. My children told me that they saw change…improvement in me!<\/p>\n

The two changes were: I am silly with them more<\/em>. I ask more<\/em> questions (answers beget more questions rather than assumptions)<\/em>. What changed was that I embraced myself fully, the way God does ~ in love. And that made all the difference! Love lifted me!<\/p>\n

When I chose to embrace the Love of The Divine, I began loving myself. That Love set me free and opened the door for my children to have the choice<\/em> to be completely safe, secure…free…with me.<\/p>\n

The beauty of love is choice. <\/em>I know, I say it often…I believe it’s worth saying often because when we really know<\/em> (accept\/believe) the Truth, it sets us free!<\/p>\n

What has us holding back (in the seemingly smallest or most insignificant way)<\/em> from receiving Divine Love? What is one step we can take in embracing the Love of The Divine today?<\/p>\n

And here’s your LAST chance to make a purchase during African American\/Black History month, my friend at Out of Hiding<\/a> <\/span>is offering the LOVE(period) collection BOGO (buy one, get one FREE!). Get a shirt, hoodie or tote for you and someone you love<\/em>…quick! When you purchase, you’re supporting a local business, owned by an African American\/Black\/Chocolate sisTAH of mine! Let Out of Hiding<\/a><\/span> know that LALIjean sent ya!<\/span><\/p>\n

Common Day Hero:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> You’re quick to speak Truth that is challenging and comforting. I’m so grateful that The Divine crossed our paths and orchestrated this friendship. I dedicate this post to you, risotto…Mol\u00e9!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Life has brought the awful, amazing and appalling this season. Sometimes, all-together, in one day. As I cry (read sob uncontrollably while alone in my car or closet), and process all this pain with more layers than I can even begin to describe, as I’m in the midst of all the awful, I also experience…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,132,81,131,27,22],"class_list":["post-2583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-divine","tag-empowering","tag-free","tag-holdingback","tag-love","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lalijean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/rainier-ridao-h_tRsmmwnfA-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1707%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2583"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2635,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583\/revisions\/2635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}