I’ll never forget the moment I learned I was going to be a father. My girlfriend and I had been separated and attempting to work things out for a couple of weeks when this event occurred. In the few days prior to discovering the news I had just recently patched things up with her to the point that we spent hours talking into the late night. The following weekend she went out of town with her family and played the distance game with me leaving me confused as to what was really going on between the two of us. Was everything patched up and moving in the right direction or is she playing with my emotions in an effort to drop me like a bad habit in payback for my transgressions against her. So after a quiet weekend I decided to take a step back and let her make the first move. Then on a quiet Monday morning I get a text message from her stating she wanted to meet me on my lunch break at my house. Little did I know I was about to receive news that would change my life.
A knock on the door brought a small amount of nervousness as I was anxious to know how this surprise meeting was going to go, but I was ready to get it over with and move on whatever the news may be. After a brief hello and some pleasantries she just came right out with it. “I’m pregnant.” A smile swept over my face and I, in bewilderment, asked for clarification. “Are you sure?” She smiles and tells me she is and hands me a pregnancy test she had performed at a clinic that shall not be named here. Given the clinic’s modus operandi I figured there was a very good chance this pregnancy test was completely accurate since they enjoy the murder of unborn babies. So needless to say I knew the report was accurate. She was pregnant and I was going to be a father.
So many things came over me in a small amount of time. It was equivalent to your life passing before your eyes as you have a near death experience. What do I do? We are not married. My house is not ready for a child. Am I ready to be a father? Will I be a good father? I need to get baby items. We need to plan a wedding. We need to tell her parents. All types of things cross your mind at that moment when you realize that your days of caring for only yourself and living the bachelor life are over – for good. Luckily for me at my age this was a change in lifestyle I was ready to make.
I was about to embark on what has been the most incredible journey so far in my life. The things I would be learning would change my life. From that moment on and for the rest of my life I would be called “Dad” to some other human being – a human being who would always look up to me for guidance and wisdom. Even if I doubted my readiness for this monumental task, the good Lord above felt me ready for this experience. And if the Lord felt I was ready for this then it was up to me to not only man up and be a father but man up and be a good husband to his mother. God has chosen this life for me and it was up to me to take the reins and saddle up – it was time to ride. I am going to be a father.
Stacks of Wood 