What's in a name?

August 20, 2010

What's in a name?

When BJ and I found out that we were pregnant, we immediately started thinking about names (call it the planner in me). We knew from the beginning that we were going to not find out whether or not we would be having a girl or a boy, so we wanted to have solid options to either gender. It took all of about 3 days to come up with the name we would use if we had a little boy... if we were blessed with a daughter (YAY WE WERE!) we had a little more of a difficult time. We had two names that we absolutely loved... we knew both names quickly, as well, but decided that we would wait to see our little girl's face before we made the final decision.

Well, July 31 came, our little lady arrived, and once we looked at her we immediately knew... that we had no idea. How do you even decide on the name your little girl will carry for the rest of her life within a moment of viewing her? BJ and I both agreed not to rush the decision and well, our little lady remained nameless for the first few hours of her life. That is until I was in recovery, nursing her for the first time and our eyes met... I just found myself saying something like, "Hello Eleanor..." and there it was. BJ was so happy (he REALLY loves the name Eleanor) and well, it is just perfect for her... she is our little Eleanor Michael.

If you look back in history, the idea of someone's name carries a lot of weight... it often described what they did, their character or their heritage. Knowing this, BJ and I are intent on finding names for our children that will give them great aspirations to live up to, names that prayerfully will reflect the workings of Christ in each of our kid's lives, names that our timeless and strong. So why Eleanor Michael??

Eleanor - means "Woman of compassion and honor"
Michael - means "Who is like God?"

If you have followed our blog throughout my pregnancy, you know that we have spent several weeks in specific prayer over little Eleanor. Mainly, that she would receive salvation from Christ at a very young age and that the Holy Spirit's residence in her little life will be evident to all as she lives a life full of the Spirit's fruit. Knowing this... Eleanor Michael really captures our prayer for her life here on earth perfectly...

Let's start with Michael - not only is this my middle name, but this is my father's middle name too. I just LOVE that I share my name with my dad, and so excited to pass this to Eleanor as well. What I love even more, though, is it's meaning.... "Who is like God?"... I pray that this name resonates in Eleanor's life as she grows... that in humility she would live her life in the shadow of the cross. That she would die to herself at an early age and acknowledge that the Author and Perfecter of her faith is Christ, the Lord. That she would not seek praise or accolade for herself, but that her light would so shine before men that all would see her good deeds and PRAISE HER FATHER IN HEAVEN, not her.

Eleanor with her grand-daddy, James MICHAEL Gross

And now Eleanor - our precious precious girl, we pray that you truly are a woman of compassion and honor... that you would receive the grace of our Jesus Christ early and extend it freely to everyone else around you. That your humility and grace in this life would be an example and testimony of the inner workings of Christ in you to your family, your friends and even to strangers. We pray that you have a dislocated heart... in a world where many people are striving for security, pleasure and self, that you would have a heart to LOVE others deeply with a love that comes straight from the Lord. That you would be gentle, that your life would be praise-worthy, and that the Lord would be glorified in your life. We believe that for you, we pray that over you and we are beyond ecstatic to watch you grow into this woman of honor, worthy to be praised. Our prayer for you:

Colossians 3:12-17 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We give you to the Lord, Eleanor Michael. You are HIS. We are SO humbled that we have the honor of raising you in our home... may you never ever question the love that your momma and daddy have for you, and it may be just a glimpse of the perfect love that your Heavenly Father has for you. You are our perfect gift, and we promise to pray for you every day of your life and ours... we can't wait to watch you grow into the honorable, compassionate woman we believe that God has created you to be.

Eleanor relaxing with Daddy...