What's In a Name?

I met Jane a year and a half ago, on my first trip to Rwanda, and she has become a special friend of mine.

She challenges me in my faith in ways I have never experienced before. Most often, it's not through words. It's through her actions. Her faith. Her love for the Lord that overflows in everything she does.

But, sometimes it is in her words.

I remember a conversation we had about names. She was curious about why Americans don't always select names with great meaning. She shared how much her children's names define who they are and whose they are. Every one of her children has a strong, significant name. Biblical names. Names that reflect God's blessing, or His goodness, or His work in some Bible character's life. In fact, most African families find their strength, identity, and sense of belonging from their name.

I am guilty of not giving this enough thought with my own children. We picked names based on how they sounded, whether they were too overused or not, and if they went with our last name well or not. For example, we picked Carlie's name based on another cute little girl we knew, and a movie star with a cool name.

Now that we've had these beautiful girls in our lives, and since Chase's name is now such a significant part of our lives as well, all of our children's names have come to mean great things, based on who each child is, and how God has made them.

But, there was no strength or significance or meaning in their names.

So, with our fifth child, sweet little Gabriel Mugisha, everything has changed. His name means everything to us. And, it was literally given by God, in my humble opinion. :)

When Gabe was living in the hospital as a tiny preemie baby, in his earliest days, he had no name. So, the local authority (the mayor) was sent a letter, requesting that he name this child. They knew the importance of identity...the significance of a name. He named him Mugisha, which means blessed.

A little while later, Gabe's foster parents, Dave and Jana, had the opportunity to select a name for this boy as well. They knew that this child had a message of miracles to share, and that he was already blessed with LIFE when he should not have survived. So, they named him Gabriel, a blessed messenger from the Lord.

Fast forward quite a few months to me, sitting on a couch, with my Bible on my lap, as I listened to a speaker share her heart with a group of grieving moms.

I was at a retreat for Hope Mommies, moms who have had to say goodbye to their children far before they should have. And, who are hurting.

I was helping lead a small group, and had come with the goal of deepening friendships with other mothers, and passing on the peace and healing I had received over the last two years, on my own road of grief. I had not necessarily expected to hear something new from the Lord.

But, boy was I wrong.

As I sat there, the speaker shared the story of her own child, Anna Gabrielle, who passed away at age 5 from a heart condition. She told the story of selecting her daughter's name, knowing she would struggle in her time here on earth.

As she shared about the name "Gabrielle", I was touched. And, as she read the scriptures God gave her for this name from Isaiah 49, I highlighted every single one.

"Before I was born, the Lord called me; from my mother's womb He has spoken my name...in the shadow of His hand, He hid me...He said to me, 'You are My servant, in whom I will display My splendor.' And, now the Lord says--He who formed me in the womb to be His servant---for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has been my strength."

She selected the name Gabrielle based on these verses, because the name Gabriel means "God is my strength."

She explained that she never felt God tell her Anna Gabrielle will be healed. But, that even as she would walk through life with sickness, God would be her strength. There is a difference between strengthening and healing. But, He is good and He is glorified in both.

Here I sit weeks later, realizing that the story of her Gabrielle is similar to the story of my Gabriel. The Lord gave me those verses because He knew I had a Gabriel on the way even when I didn't. And, that's the AMAZING way God works, friends.

He plopped me on a couch that I thought I was sitting on to offer a fellow mom a shoulder to cry on. And, instead He whispered deep in my soul "the child I have for you to love has been NAMED by ME. I will be His STRENGTH."

And, so, of course, it was never a question if we would keep Gabe's name. We wouldn't dream of changing it.

Because it was given to Him by the Lord.

And, for good reason.

God has been Gabriel's strength since He began knitting him together in his mother's womb. God knew the physical struggles Gabe would have. And, while He has not chosen yet to heal him completely of those, He has strengthened him for the walk. And, God has blessed Gabe--and so many others---through the powerful testimony of this little boy's life.

This next week, we begin a new road of strength and healing for our son. And, once again, God leads the way.

Monday morning, we will check into the hospital, while Gabe receives tests and is monitored for the seizures that he has suffered since last November. With medication, they have been well-controlled, and he has been seizure-free for almost 60 days. But, on Monday, we stop the medication so the doctors can see his seizures as they are, and then give new medicines to help him. (By the way, this is a miracle in itself. The appointments with this epileptologist usually take months to get. We were able to get in within one week of being home. God is taking care of His little Gabe.)

We would appreciate your prayers, as we begin this week with many unknowns. Yet, with so much peace. For, we know even in all these things, God called Gabe from the womb to be His. And, that He WILL be Gabe's strength.

Gabriel is strong in the Lord. Mugisha is a blessed son. And, we are thankful parents.