The Power of a Name

Names are so important. They are a part of us. They are how we are identified. How we are known. The meaning of names hold so much weight. Power almost. Influence.

We have always felt strongly that we wanted our girls to have good, strong meanings to their names. Gabriella means “God’s messenger or Devoted to God”, and her middle name Elizabeth means “Consecrated to God”. Elianna means “God has answered”, and her middle name Grace means “God’s favor”.

This would be no different. I mean, if God had put China on our hearts, softened us to adoption, then put a very specific little girl seared into our minds, surely her name would be great. Little did we know that it would be not only great, but also that it would be very evidently revealed to us.

You see, just as He had with each and every other part and piece, God was about to make Himself known in this too.

Just like God in His amazing ability took two separate people’s thoughts, ideas, hopes, and dreams, placed a stirring in our hearts, changed our minds and preconceptions, and brought us both to the place of being ready to accept His leading into this next chapter of His calling for us to adopt, He was about to lead us to the name He had for this child.

Jenni’s Vantage Point-

So if God was really calling us to do this thing. This wild and crazy thing. She was going to need a name. I started to get excited. The planner in me, the Mommy in me. I wanted to pick out a name for her. I was excited to choose a name for her. I had all sorts of names that I liked. So I started to search some of them up online. One by one I typed them in and looked up the meaning. Hmm…  Cute, but not really a strong meaning. Wow, that one is trendy, but doesn’t really carry much notability. This one is so beautiful, but do you really want that meaning to be what’s spoken over her? They were all falling flat. Until suddenly, a name came to me. Seemingly out of nowhere. Certainly not on my list. Not a name I had ever pondered or considered. Yet, there it was. In the forefront of my mind. So, I looked it up. The name was Evangeline. The meaning? “Messenger of God, or Bearer of good news” Wow! Talk about feeling overwhelmed. I literally read it, and thought, “Well, I guess that’s it. That is meant to be her name. Thanks, God” It just felt so plainly from Him. I don’t know why that surprised me. It really shouldn’t have. He had told me to go and get her. Why shouldn’t her name mean messenger of God and bearer of good news?

When Josh got home from work that evening, I told him “I have something so exciting to tell you!” His response surprised me. He asked me if I could wait to share it with him, because he had been praying and asking God for something very specific, and was needing Him to show up big. I said sure. I told him that I could wait, but how long did he need me to wait? He said “Give me 24 more hours” I begrudgingly agreed. I mean, I was so excited to share this news with him! I now knew our daughter’s name! But, I waited. Still not even sure what it was he was praying about and trusting God to show up for.

Josh’s Vantage Point:

It started with a whisper.  You know the one you have in your head, but you pass off as a fleeting thought.  But then it whispers again, and again.   Clearly I heard over and over the thought, that we must go to China and get our daughter.  I knew right away what God was calling us to do.  But just as many other men before me, I questioned and challenged God because my human mind needed that last confirmation.  So I challenged God, as any sane man would do when facing the omnipresent, all powerful, creator of the universe.  Kind of like Gideon when he asked God for a sign to show that He would rescue Israel.   Gideon asked for the fleece to be wet but the ground to be dry, so I asked that God reveal my daughter’s name.  That was what I needed to confirm that this was really God’s plan.  Then I prayed and listened.  Prayed and listened.  Then there was silence.

When Two Vantage Points Collide:

Anxiously after 24 hours, I asked Josh if I could please share with him my news. He agreed, but said he was still praying for something and waiting to hear back from God. I then began to share with him about how I felt like God had revealed what our daughter’s name would be.

Josh looked shocked, and asked me to repeat what I had just said. So I repeated that God had told me what our little girl’s name would be. At this point, Josh got teary eyed and said “that is the exact thing that I have been praying for, and asking God to give me a sign about”. Wow! Talk about both of us feeling completely caught off guard.  Josh was praying for a confirmation, and then God answered his challenge through me.

At this point we knew that there clearly was a little girl in China. A little girl that would become a part of our family. Meant to be named Evangeline. And that she was waiting for us.  Waiting for us to bring her home. But we had not found her yet. There started to be a clear and distinct feeling. That feeling that you get when you have been away from your kids, and you are missing them. We truly felt as though one of our daughters was away from us, but we didn’t know where she was, or who she was.  So our search began.