A name, everyone has one. Unless you are the artist formally known as Prince you have a name you go by. In some cases you have a name that goes by different variations. Such as the name Thomas you could also go by, Tom or Tommy. In my case I have been called, Janet, Janice, and Jan.
Maybe your name has a special family connection or history. Chris has Brett's middle name. Brittany has my middle name, which is also my Mom's middle name. Though she has informed me that when she does have kids the "Lea" tradition ends here. Which is fine, that is one of the cool things about being a parent getting to choose the name. Maybe as young parents we don't realize the magnitude of choosing a name. Think about it, their name is the one thing you give your child that they will have from birth to death.
Then we marry into names. I love the name Sapp because I didn't have it as a child. So I missed out on the name calling that probably went along with the name. Hey tree! Your such a sap. I remember my kids being called Sapplings. I think they still are sometimes. But as a child who grew up with the last name Allphin, which no one could pronounce or spell, Sapp is so much easier. I love the fact that Brittany's married last name was also my Dad's middle name. I rarely say her whole name Brittany Douglas without thinking about my Dad.
When I worked as a customer service rep in a phone center, I would often rattle off the introduction in a hurry, and sometimes people would think my name was Anna or Hannah. I know. Go figure. They don't sound alike. But, I would never correct them. I mean if they were not happy with the call or service let them call back and try to find Anna.
The point being we all have a name and whether we like our name or not it is one of the sweetest words in the universe. We love it when new people we meet remember our name. Or at least I do. And even though I know that, I so stink at remembering peoples names.
I particularly love it when I hear Brett say my name. I would much rather hear the name Janet roll off his lips than old goat or handsome woman. Our names are special. They signify who we are. They define us and differentiate us from others. I love in the bible when Jesus or God gave people new names that signified a change in them, Abram became Abraham, Saul became Paul, Simon became Peter. Each new name represented a change in their character.
I have been reviewing and studying some of the different names for the Lord. There are so many, El-Channun, El Olam, Jehovah Jireh. Each one represents a different facet or element of our Lord. All the same Lord, but a different aspect to my relationship to him.
Kind of in the same way that different names or titles I hold represent a different aspect of who I am. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, an aunt, a grand daughter, a cousin, a friend, maybe even an enemy to some. All the same person but a different perspective on how you see me. The title of wife is different to Brett than the title of Mom is to Brittany or Chris.
I am trying to take each of the names of God and spend a day just thinking about what that means to me? Today, Emmanuel - My God with me. Matthew 1:23 says, Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.'
Thanks for reading!
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