I was not ‘supposed’ to be a mom, but I was ‘meant’ to be a mom.
There was a time in my life when I was told I might never have children. Honestly, it didn’t shake mi much then—I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.
Eventually, years passed, and I got pregnant with my son.
I’ll spare you the details, but it was a complicated pregnancy that ended in two-inductions, a 26-hour labor, and an emergency delivery. But he arrived – strong, beautiful, and completely mine.
Almost three years later, I suffered a miscarriage. That’s when I heard the words, “Maybe your son was meant to be an only child.”
I came from a big family, and the idea of raising an only child felt foreign. Still, I reminded myself that God gave you one child when you weren’t supposed to have any.
Be grateful.
And I was—deeply.
I loved my boy beyond measure.
But God had other plans.
Just days after my son turned five, I delivered my second child—another miracle. It had been an even more difficult pregnancy, filled with uncertainty and fear. On the day she arrived, the delivery room was crowded with medical staff, preparing me for an emergency cesarean. With every push, my baby was losing oxygen. They warned she might be stillborn or suffer severe brain trauma.
After hours of intense labor, she was born. But the silence coated the room like a wet blanket—until we heard it. A scream. Strong. Fierce. Alive.
My daughter, breathless and purple, had made it. A fighter from her first breath and a force ever since.
After her birth, the doctors told me I could not carry another child. My body simply couldn’t do it again.
But motherhood? Motherhood has been more than I ever dreamed. It’s a love i didn’t know my heart was capable of, a love too big for words. It’s sacrifices, worry, prayers, high-fives, exhaustion, joy—and doing it all over again every single day. It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had and the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.
If I could go back and talk to that 20-something girl who didn’t know what she wanted to be, I’d tell her:
“You’ll DO a lot of things in your life. But the best thing you’ll ever BE —is a mom.
Because through them, you’ll see your life, your heart, and your legacy truly grow.”
© Michelle Bryant Griffin