One adoption aspect that all families face is what names will their newly adopted children have? With Elijah’s adoption we picked the name in advance and because of his age, didn’t really have any discussions with him about this. We wanted to keep him connected to his culture and so kept his Chinese first name as his, now, middle name.
But with our Brazilian children we were a lot more apprehensive about picking names. They are much older and, as you might have seen from some other posts, understand quite a bit more. In fact, it is astonishing how quickly they are able to pick up on our emotions (even though we think we are doing a good job of hiding them). Perhaps this also gives you a clue as to what they are most sensitive to…which likely has a lot to do with their history. Because the process required it, we did pick names for them, but also wanted to have discussions with them to give them an opportunity to weigh in and say yes or no to the names. Like with Elijah, we want to keep as many cultural connections as possible. So we opted to keep all the first names the same and instead add new middle names.
One of the things that has been important to us over the years is the meanings of names. Time and time again, Biblical characters have names that signify very important aspects of their lives and ministries. Elijah, for instance, means My God is Yahweh. This fits his story very well as he ministers in a time when the nation of Israel is wavering between false gods and the One True God. Elijah stands as a testimony to the true God and he resolutely proclaims the same truth as his name. This is one reason why we wanted our son to have this name – it is our prayer that his life will make the same proclamation – My God is Yahweh.
The very little that we knew about our children from their files was the basis for name selection. We chose the name Samuel as the middle name for the oldest child. There were really several reasons for this. This was a name we were hoping to give to Shan, whose adoption we still pray will go through. But it is a name of great significance to us because it means God hears. Samuel is the product of God hearing the prayers of Hannah and she specifically names her son this because God heard her pleas. Both Shan and our oldest son are at an age where they are able to have a say in the adoption process – to choose to be adopted or not. Both have chosen to stay in the adoption process in the prayer of getting a forever family. But, furthermore, our oldest son at one stage during his time in the orphanage, wrote a letter asking God for a family. We picked this name because we believe that God heard that cry and is answering it through us. This has also been a point of discussion with the oldest. Even tonight, he was asking again about why we picked this name. We shared the meaning and how his letter inspired this (he was curious to know how the document had this information…which we don’t actually know other than whoever put it together knew this fact). All we know was that he wrote a letter to God and then lost it somewhere. But tonight he filled in just a bit more – that it was a letter specifically asking God for a family. And in sharing the meaning of his name, he commented that we are God’s answer to his letter.
Our second child’s middle name is Nathaniel, which means gift from God. We have been praying for him (and all the other kids) for almost a year now and truly believe that he is a gift from God to us (even though at times our patience wears thin with this gift…perhaps it is a gift in many ways – to build patience in us!). During the final visit with the psychologist yesterday, we role played what will happen at the court hearing next week. Part of the process is that we will finalize the new names. Our second child told the psychologist not only his new middle name, but what it means…maybe more of what we are saying is sinking in than we realize 😀
Our third Brazilian child’s middle name is Liana. This name means My God has answered. It is our hearts desire that she will be able to claim this statement some day. That God is her God and that she recognizes how He has answered.
Our fourth child’s middle name is Ruth, meaning friend. And true to her name, she is a very friendly personality. She is happy to strike up a conversation with almost anyone and has a very winsome personality. Like the Biblical character, we pray that her greatest friend will be the Lord Himself.
What’s in a name? Well, as it turns out, an awful lot! And here is one of the many places that physical adoption mirror spiritual adoption. You see, when God adopts us into His family, we also receive new identities, new names. We are called His Children, Beloved, Saints. Our lives are never the same – it takes years and years for us to slowly start to open up and believe this. The attachment process is often arduous and filled with us ignoring Him, going hot and cold on Him, and doing just about anything to test the limits of His love. But our identity never changes and neither does His love. We pray we will be able to reflect and communicate this truth to our children. And we are thankful that even already, the names of our children give us opportunities to discuss God.
What’s in a name? A world of prayers, history, and new identities.
Halfway Around the Globe 