FINALLY I am allowed to talk about this! I know I haven’t updated at all for a long time. For some of those months, it was getting my head around various subject matter. After that, it was pregnancy symptoms kicking in. For my friends outside of Brisbane and other places, here are some FAQs:
Feelings: Scared. Nervous. Excited. Really grateful that God has been so gracious to allow us to come to this point. Pretty surreal looking at the scans…seeing that there’s a combo of Chris & I growing inside! It’s been great to share with close family & Chris. Though Chris’s emotions are usually worded very simply. E.g.
G: “How do you feel?! :D”
C: Erm…excited (in a non-excited voice)
G: So, what do you feel excited about!?
C: Um…that you’re pregnant…I don’t know
…I trust that he’s really excited inside.
Timing: We’ve been married for almost 6 years now and we’re very thankful God we are able to come to this stage of it. We had our first scan last week and everything was all good thank God.
Symptoms: Thankfully I haven’t lost my appetite, and that I haven’t experienced vomiting at all and got away relatively easily. My main symptoms are/were – frequent headaches, fatigue and nausea, and its slowly improving. The worst it ever got was probably when my insomnia mixed with my fatigue…then I was totally zombified. But I guess that’s nothing compared to what’s coming right mums? In terms of cravings…not really specific but I love soup and ALWAYS ordered SOUP noodles but now I have no desire for them, must have STIR-FRIED noodles/rice instead! Can’t wait till I can eat raw fish again…and eat meat/seafood without being paranoid about raw bits.
Chris has been a really good husband looking after me!! It’s true. Buying me food and letting the housework be undone longer. He even tried making Chinese fish soup for me but it didn’t turn out as I had hoped LOL.
Some Reflections
Pregnancy & Sin
When you’ve been lying in bed for most of the day cause your head is aching, you haven’t been able to do anything productive and you’re exhausted, it’s easy to get snappy and expect others to serve you. Though I needed to take it easy, I was tempted to use it as a license to be snappy or say hurtful things. God convicted me of these sins early on and I’m thankful that He provides the strength from the Spirit to exercise self-control (some of the time).
Days of unproductiveness can be very guilt-inducing for someone like me. Its hard to know the difference between laziness and tiredness sometimes. Sometimes I think I should take it easy, while other times I think – maybe if I stick a Panadol in it or take a walk outside I won’t feel so yuck and be able to do something productive.
Still learning – asking God to teach me the difference.
Pregnancy & Fear
I really would have to say some of my greatest fears in life is childbirth and sleep deprivation. Most other ‘bad things’ that occur in life are involuntary, but this is like self-subjugation. Oh man. Just another thing to trust God with!
Another one was when we were contemplating moving out of Sydney, my biggest concern was raising a family away from family and close friends. Also, being the FIRST to have kids in the congregation and not having much understanding/experience from others. Lots to learn and model. How would I ever survive? However, God has shown me that He still works through his children up here and we’ve never felt in need or isolated. I guess Brisbane is NOTHING compared to all of you doing God’s work in foreign lands! Amazing.
Then there’s the fear of miscarriage! It’s was/is such a real prospect I have to keep reminding myself that this is all a gift which could get taken away.
Pregnancy & Work/Ministry
Because of the symptoms I had to go easy on church (work) and college so I’ve had to defer college. I realized my desire to finish my degree was really great, almost an idol. So learning to entrust God with all that. And now, I’m facing the prospect of moving into the next phase of ministry God is calling me into. I had an afternoon where I was almost ‘mourning’ my current way of life. I feel like my time is short so hopefully I can spend the next months doing as much training and mentoring while I can.
Ultimately lots to trust God with – more prayer = less worry. So hard to put into practice. THANKS for those who’ve been thinking, praying and practically supporting us! We really appreciate it 🙂
Btw, if you ever come to this stage of pregnancy, I’ve found A-line skirts and horizontal stripes are GREAT at masking a growing bump! Also I’m not really one for showing scans or regular bump photos…unless you guys want to see them; then let me know…
Also happy to receive advice from those with experience – not many mums up here so please go ahead! So far my greatest source of knowledge is the internet (sigh).
Grace Lung 