Bracing myself...

i'm really excited with all that's going on with ling's pregnancy and the fact that i'm going to be a father sooner than i think ;) (God willing - all goes well)

But at the same time i do have to admit that there's a lot to be considered and worked out. A lot to prepare for.

For a person like me, who's pretty used to 'change', i'm bracing myself for possibly the biggest change of my life thus far... becoming a father.

The more i take stock the more i edge into a sense of being overwhelmed by what's to come. Yet, i am insistent, with God's grace, to brave what things may come and as they come.

Here are some very 'practical' issues that have been 'swimming around in my head' for awhile now:

1. The hospital in which ling is going to deliver.

2. The immediate financial cost that the pregnancy is bound to incur, e.g maternal clothing, baby stuff, etc. etc.

3. The 'long leave' that ling will be on (we're sort of planning that she take about 1 to 2 years of leave... reasons for which i can't really explain here and now) and as such, the financial adjustments we'd have to make in terms of loan payments, our giving, etc. as we'll be sort of transforming from a dual income family to a single income family (at least for a time)

4. i would like ling to stay and be around family and loved ones after the delivery, i.e. in KL, which means on my end, arranging things and praying for God to somehow work something out so that ling and i can both be together in KL

And i haven't even touched the stuff about actually being a father (well, of course the issues mentioned above are part and parcel of it but you know what i mean)

i've been reading some articles off the net (planning to buy maybe 1 or two books about fatherhood too) and boy, oh boy, do i have my work cut out for me.

i mean not that i wasn't aware or anything like that... guess it's slowly starting to hit home that's all ;)

Still, as i put my trust in God who is my Abba Father, i'm certain that He will supply over and above all that i could ask, hope or imagine.

DAD... help me ;)