Meaning-Filled Name

Those who have known us as we welcomed our first five children into the world know that we don't usually share the baby's name until after the birth. Part of the reason for that is simply because it's fun to have a surprise worth waiting for, and partly it's because we'd rather not hear comments about the name. Once it's officially given most people won't speak up and tell you why they don't like it. Beforehand, people seem to think it's up for discussion.

Given the recent circumstances surrounding our little one we've decided to go ahead and share his first name. Last week when we first discovered that his health did not look good, we told the kids his name so that they could be praying for him. We had anticipated sharing his name with everyone if his health did not improve. Now that it has we've realized that it's not fair to expect the kids to keep from accidentally saying the name in public when we talk about him by name at home.

We also would covet your continued prayers for our little one. And in our experience, God often prompts us to pray by bringing a name to mind. So we ask that as this little one's name and as our names come to mind you would take a moment and say a prayer for his health and development. Thank you in advance!

Our third reason for sharing has to do with the meaning of the name we chose. We fully expected to spend days or weeks trying to settle on a boy name we both like. We have always chosen Hebrew Bible names and the meaning of the name is extremely important to us. We use the names given to our chldren to pray specifically for them throughout the years. And we often refer to the name meanings as we pray blessings over our children at birthdays and during devotions. But this particular name jumped out at us during our very first name discussion and we were both in immediate agreement that it was "the one".

The name we have chosen means "humble". And boy, is that appropriate! All week we've had to humble ourselves before the Lord. It has been difficult to truly submit our wills to His, to come to terms with the thought that this baby may forever turn our lives upside down. We have been humbled in the best way ... we've been driven to our knees in recognition that God is the creator and giver of life.

So, without further ado, the name we have chosen is ... MICAH!

We look forward to seeing what God is going to do in and through little Micah. God must have something tremendous in store given how He has miraculously saved his life. Whatever it is, we pray that we and Micah will stay humble throughout, reflecting glory and honor back to God for His great works.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7