Holiday Cheer

There's a few things  you should know about someone who is going through infertility during the holidays.

They probably won't be very cheerful. The truth is that the holidays are just another reminder for them that they don't have children to be thankful for or to buy gifts for or to take to see Santa.
People ask you what you want for Christmas and you painfully fake a smile and say "Oh I don't know" when every single night you beg God that if he would just answer your prayer you wouldn't ask for another thing again.

And I mean... for some reason pregnancy and baby annoucements literally feel like they DOUBLE during the holidays. You see posts about how so and so is thankful that God trusted them to be a mother on Thanksgiving or that the joy of seeing their kids on Christmas morning is nothing to be compared to.

Sometimes it's hard to admit that we aren't okay. Lately I've been feeling like there is so much pressure from society and especially our church to "just buck up and move on." I find myself feeling so absolutely broken inside but because it's not okay to not be okay. Because we were meant to be happy, and I absolutely believe that. I think the pressure gets to be too much and sometimes I just explode, I find myself being mad at everything for days at a time and I honestly believe it's because I feel like I'm not allowed to be sad. That I am ungrateful if I have a day where I just feel like I don't want to get out of bed because I'm feeling down and like life just isn't fair.

Another reason why the holidays are so hard is because every year we say "By this time next year we will have a little baby," which only makes it harder. It's a reminder of how many Christmases and Anniversaries we have celebrated while not being able to start a family of our own. You surely think you won't be in the same situation next year, but somehow you're stuck. Your life isn't progressing the way it's supposed to be at this point.

I encourage you to take a moment and reach out to those who you know may be going through this during this holiday season. Tell them you love them and that you hope they get everything that they want this year, because I can gaurantee a baby is the top of their list. Rememeber that this time of year isn't always easy for everybody.