God made my girl a wrestler.

Gosh, those are words I would never have thought I would say or be so insanely proud to share with you. But I am. I know with 100 percent certainty and overwhelming pride that God made my girl a wrestler.

But it’s been a journey. Probably one that started in the spring of 2010 when I was pregnant with my first baby and having the 20-week anatomy ultrasound. I remember hearing the word “girl” and squealing. I was over the moon excited—all I could think about were hair bows and cute outfits. And so for years, I dressed my girl in holiday outfits and the biggest hair bows I could find. She was my little doll.

My girl has always been one of those kids athletics just comes easy for. She did tumbling, soccer, cheer, and softball—all the sports her friends were doing. And she was great at them. She was always a team player and could be counted on to make a play when her team needed it.

But we realized that even though she was great at those sports and activities physically, they just didn’t have her heart. We didn’t see the passion in her eyes. We didn’t see the pride in her performance. She just did them.

We have been a wrestling family for a long time. Her brother started wrestling at age 5, so my girl has grown up going to tournaments all winter. She has loved the all-day party full of concession stand trips, hanging with the other siblings, and cheering for her brother on the mat.

And so a couple of years ago when she was 11 and quietly whispered, “I think I want to wrestle,” her dad and I were part shocked and part ecstatic.

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Anyone who has ever stepped into a wrestling room or seen a wrestling match knows it’s intense. It’s a battle of strategy, strength, and mental fortitude in a circle on a mat in front of a bleacher full of cheering (aka yelling) fans. It’s the thrill of winning against a tough opponent. It’s the grind of physically and mentally draining practices. It’s the disappointment in a loss that should have been a win. I just didn’t know if I could let my girl do it.

Isn’t that every stage of parenting? Not knowing if you can send your little girl off to kindergarten or let your son drive away the first time or trust them with a cell phone. It’s so easy to want to protect them and keep them safe in our little cocoon of Mom and what they should do.

But I am here to tell you that God made my girl a wrestler and I am so thankful He did.

Has it been easy? Absolutely not.

There have been nerves—on her part and ours. There have been sore muscles and black eyes. There have been worries that her friends would laugh because she was being different. There have been so many tears.

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But has it been worth it? Absolutely.

I have seen my shy, timid girl grow into a strong, brave young lady. I have seen her set big goals and achieve them. I have seen her push herself to train and learn. I have seen her confidence skyrocket. I have seen her make new friends with her sisters on the mat. And I have seen her leadership skills develop in a new way.

And I have finally seen the fire in her eyes.

I saw it when she won her first-ever match.

I saw it when she beat a boy for the first time.

I saw it when she won a state championship last year (in her second year).

And I saw it when she realized that God made her a wrestler. God made her tough. He made her strong. He made her a leader and he made her brave.

There is a reason Girl’s Wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.  It changed my girl’s life and I know it’s changing so many other girls’ lives.

Our girls won’t always wrestle on the mat. But they will take the lessons learned on the mat into their lives as women and mothers one day.

They will be braver and stronger women who believe in themselves and their ability to do hard things.

And for that, I am so thankful God made my girl a wrestler.