Brave

What does the word BRAVE mean? It is one of those words that we throw around and say all the time but I don’t think that we truly know what it means.  I was recently told that I was brave and it made me wonder.  According to this definition being brave is something that can be in a variety of ways.  Being brave is possessing or exhibiting courage or a courageous endurance. 

  When I think of brave I think of Zachary… all the testing and how scary it probably was for him, I think of all the pain that he endured and how he was able to smile and move on like it was just part of the gift that he was given.  I think of Zachary being able to be BRAVE and tell us that he was going to go home to Heaven and see Jesus.  How brave was Zach to love on all of us when he was hurting so badly? How brave he was to act like all is okay and that he was fine even when hurting? How brave he was to smile at everyone? How brave was Zach to go to and sit nicely at a table at a restaurant knowing that he couldn’t have any of it that one sip or one taste would hurt him? How brave was he to go and have his daddy time and to do events with us as a family knowing his little body was going to hurt more late.  That is being brave.

When I think of brave I think of Aden… all the flexibility and the unknowing that he went through.  I think of how brave he was to love on me and his daddy when our hearts were broken.  How brave he must be to keep going like things are okay, when his world has been turned upside down.  How brave it is to not know if he was going to be with mom or dad that night or if he was even going to get to come home.  How brave was he to learn what he could eat and not eat so he would be more safe while at others houses?  How brave he is to be willing to go and see his brother knowing that his brother is going to go to heaven? How brave he was to climb up in his bed and tell Zach that it is okay to go be with God? To crawl up in the bed with him after zach died to tell him that one last time that he loved him.  That is being brave.

When I think of brave I think of Adam… all the things that he had to do that caused him to trust me to take care of Aden and Zach.  Him being brave enough to work to provide for us.  Him being brave enough to go talk to his bosses to say that he made a mistake even though he knew that it might cause him his job.  How brave was he to know that he was going to have to go to work and miss surgeries of his son? How brave was he to take time off to spend with us as a family before it was too late? How brave was he to stand and walk with me down the aisle of the same place that we got married to listen to our pastor say goodbye to Zach?   That is being brave

When I think of brave I think of those friends who didn’t know what to say or do but stuck around anyway.  I think of those friends that have been through hurts as well but are honest enough to fill me in on all the details that I don’t know, reliving some of that pain so I will know what to pray for.  How brave is it to listen to hurt and complaining knowing that you can’t help? How brave it is to be there to hold on and to love on those that need it even if you don’t understand.  I think of those that are willing to put themselves aside to love on and to help others.  I think of those that repeatedly ask to help when they know that the person is too scared to say that they need it.  I think of those that need others and are willing to admit that they do.  I think of those that are willing to be transparent, wonderful, loving and hopeful even when life seems harsh.   That is brave.

I don't see me as being brave, I see me being surrounded by amazing people