What's in a Name?

Names are important to me. Maybe it's my literary background, but when it came time to name our children, Dan and I wanted to pick something that would be meaningful to us and hopefully, someday, to our kids as well. Picking Micah's name came easy. Dan's favorite Bible verse is in Micah (Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.") and we liked that the name is a question. In Hebrew it means "Who is like God?". Before Micah was born we thought about our hopes for who he would grow up to be. Along with the general things like: a person of good character, kind, etc., we wanted, yes actually prayed, that he would be someone who didn't just take what people said at face value but tested it. Maybe even someone who asked himself the question of his name: who is like God? Am I? And what does that mean? Well, it goes without saying that you often get what you hope/pray for but not always in the way you anticipate.  We are now realizing that our prayers have been answered in the positive, for better and for worse! We have a son who questions. Everything. Everyday. "Why?" is the tagline for every statement. While we love his curious nature, it is difficult to at times to deal with a child who doesn't accept that he should do something "because Mommy and Daddy said so." Not that we want a yes-man child, but it would be nice to get through a bathtime or a hand-washing without an argument! I now know I must have very good reasons for why I want him to do things and be able to articulate those. That's easy now, when most of the time our answer is "because I'm trying to keep you safe" or "because I'm trying to keep you healthy." But I know those answers will get more complicated the older he gets. And some of them he'll probably change our minds about. So it's good that we're being forced to think in this pattern now. He's causing us to question things too. And questioning is important because often its the search for answers that helps us grow, tests and strengthens our faith and many aspects of our lives. Without testing we would never know our limits or the esctasy of achieving more than we dreamed was possible. For now, we are walking that tightrope of allowing him the freedom to express his feelings and question rules, while still consistantly enforcing those rules we expect him to follow. 

So what about Jacob's name?  Well, we know that literally the name Jacob means "deceiver", or more kindly put, "supplanter." As a biblical figure, Jacob did lie to his father and steal a birthright from his brother. Hmmm, not things we want to encourage. However, he also wrestled with an angel (which many people believe was God in angel form) until God agreed to bless him. God then named him Israel ("wrestles with God"). To make it short, the Israelites were God's "chosen" people so this was an important moment on many levels. We again liked the idea that Jacob wouldn't let go until God blessed him. He wasn't perfect, but God blessed him and made him an integral part of his overall plan. Say what you will about him, but I like Jacob's humanity. So in light of all this, what kind of person are we praying and hoping Jacob will be? A person whom God blesses. A person with perseverance. And... just to be on the safe side, I'm saying an extra prayer that he'll be a person of compassion and gentleness too :-) Who knows? Maybe he'll be captain of the wrestling team someday. He's certainly got the build for it! (That's 7 mos., 25 lbs and counting, folks...)