Names

When we adopted our seven children as well as when we were expecting our birth children, we thought of names.......names are very important.....you know,....you've heard the comments...'she doesn't look like a 'Sarah', she looks like she's a 'Natalie'......or....I'd never name my child THAT name because it seems like every child with that name has a direct line to the 'dark side'.....ya, you know what I mean,...those kids!
Some of our kids decided themselves that they wanted to change their names.......when we had one of our foster kids for five years, out of the blue, one day,..he said...'mom? When you adopt me are you going to change my name?'...'Well, I don't know, #5, (no, I didn't call my kids by numbers, just trying to protect the innocent here!)....you're older so I didn't think you'd want to change your name'.....'well, I do....if you were to change it then what would it be?'....so, we talked names....he said 'Oh'........a couple of days later he said, as we were driving in the van (excellent conversations when we're driving, one of my kids even asked Jesus into her heart...I did pull over for that one!).....'mom?'...'yes, #5,'.....'when are we going to start using my new name'....'well, when would you like to'.....'now'......'now?'...'yes'....'wellllllllllll, okay.....but you'll have to bear with us.....we might slip up and call you by your old name sometimes'....'that's okay'......'allrighty then!'

All seven of our adopted children have had their birth names changed,..the ones that we had from babies or toddlers, we just changed ....in every case of the older children, it was at their request...I treaded carefully here...didn't want to traumatize anymore than I had to, ...and in every case we kept their original 'birth' name as their third name. I always thought that it was important because that was who they were for the first while after they were born...but we also felt it was important that just as we chose our birth children's names because they were our kids, so should we with our adopted kids......afterall, God gave them to us just as He gave us our birth children......they were ALL OUR KIDS!

Anyways, I was reading a devotional today that talked about the new names we will all receive from God when we get to Heaven.....we are told that as soon as we are called it and we hear it,...we will know it,....that it will represent who we are in God's eyes....oh, my goodness.....that is an awesome thought...and a little scary...I look at my life, I look at my thoughts, my actions, how other people see me....how God sees me......

When He calls me by that name, I will know it.......wow.