“Do you want to know what it’s hard to be all of the time? Brave.
It is so incredibly hard.
When you’re dealing with infertility, you are handed more obstacles and mountains to climb than you could ever imagine. And more times than not these challenges set before you are absolutely frightening.
There are no guarantees, and there is no way to predict the outcome that is headed your way. You hold your breath, cross your fingers, and take a giant leap of faith just in the hopes that your miracle is well within reach.
From the outside looking in, you can appear so courageous and strong for constantly putting yourself through this and never giving up…but that’s not the reality at hand.
Despite looking so brave from the outside, on the inside you are more scared than you’ve ever been in your life.
You are fearful that no matter how hard you try nothing will work. You become overcome with anxiety that your time may never come. And you are constantly filled with stress at the thought of everything you have to do just to give yourself even the slightest of chances for this to finally happen.
At the end of the day, you feel anything but brave.
But you know what…doing this afraid is just as brave.
Bravery cannot be measured simply by the courage you project.
You don’t have to have it all together every minute of every day. You don’t have to feel the need to put on a brave face just because you think you have no other choice but to do so. It’s okay to be scared, and it’s okay to admit the uncertainty that lies ahead of you is terrifying.
The mere fact you wake up every single day and choose to continue to fight for this speaks volumes. Regardless of if you are feeling confident or not, you are still incredibly strong because you are choosing to move forward.
Being brave all of the time is not realistic, but you standing here and never giving up – that will always show bravery.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Mackenzie Eckinger of Ohio and originally appeared here. You can follow her journey on Instagram here and here. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
Read more from Mackenzie here:
Infertility Is Just As Hard For Husbands As It Is For Their Wives
This Empty, Unused Room Was Supposed To Be Your Nursery
To My Future Babies, I Will Continue To Write Our Story
I’ve Been Pregnant Eight Times, But I Still Don’t Know What It Feels Like To Be Pregnant
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