Not All Signs Are Meant To Soothe. Some Are Meant To Prepare Us.
When we talk about signs from the Universe, we often picture angel numbers, feathers on the ground, songs on the radio, or rainbows after the storm. We expect signs to offer comfort, clarity, or at the very least, hope. But what if some signs are meant to shake us? To prepare us. To awaken us before we’re ready.
This is something I learned the hard way.
Fourteen years ago, I was pregnant and made it to 12 weeks with no issue. I believed I was finally out of the “danger zone”. It was a moment filled with innocence and hope. I lived on the Gold Coast and flew down to Melbourne to surprise my mum with the news in person. The doctor had confirmed that baby was ok, so I couldn’t hold back my excitement.
At that time, I never considered that anything bad could happen after you have the 12 week scan. It’s not something you believe will touch your story—until it does. I was in my own happy bouble because it was the first time I made it to 12 weeks without miscarrying.
But alongside the joy of that pregnancy, there was something else brewing in the background: a crumbling relationship. My ex-partner and I were going through serious issues, and deep down, I could feel it. On that flight to Melbourne, I closed my eyes and prayed. I remember it so clearly—asking God, “Please give me a sign. Please show me that everything is going to be okay. Just something—anything—to guide me.”
I didn’t ask for a sign about the pregnancy specifically. I just needed to know that something would work out—whether it was my relationship, motherhood, or my future in general. I wasn’t looking for a particular answer… just reassurance.
Like I always did when flying, I picked up a stack of magazines. I’d do this all the time for work trips—it was my little ritual. And right after I whispered that prayer, I opened one of the magazines and there it was: a full-page headline, bold and impossible to miss
“Pregnant and Alone”
It felt like the whole plane went quiet. I just stared at those words. My stomach dropped, my heart raced, and even though I tried to dismiss it, I knew deep in my gut: this was my sign. Not a hopeful one. Not a sweet, gentle whisper from the Universe. A red flag. A warning. And it hit me hard. Of course, I didn’t fully understand it at the time. I didn’t think it meant separation or betrayal or grief. But I felt that it was telling me something heavy was coming.
Not long after, my relationship truly collapsed. I was pregnant, and I was alone. He was absent, distant, and eventually—gone. He chose a different life, and I was left to walk the journey of pregnancy by myself. And then, heartbreakingly, I lost that baby at 20 weeks. This pregnancy ended in unimaginable pain. I grieved alone. I rebuilt alone.
That sign was not a coincidence. It wasn’t something I could’ve imagined or fabricated. It came the minute I asked for guidance, and while it didn’t comfort me at the time—it prepared me. It planted a seed of awareness. It gave me something to hold onto when everything else fell apart. The thing is, we often romanticize the idea of signs. We want them to be wrapped in glitter, to sparkle with hope, to lift us up and promise us everything will be okay. Sometimes signs come to shake us into awareness. To nudge us away from denial. To help us wake up before the fall.
Signs are not always feathers and rainbows.
Now, over a decade later, I look back on that moment and I don’t see it as cruel. I see it as kind. It didn’t stop what was going to happen—but it softened the blow. It opened my eyes, gently but firmly. And in that way, it gave me strength.
If you’re reading this and you’ve had a sign that scared you or unsettled you, know this: not all signs are meant to soothe. Some are meant to prepare. To anchor you in truth. To whisper, you already know.
And as painful as that may be, sometimes it’s the greatest gift.