V is for Valma: The Call to Name as Christian Writers ~ by Michelle Strutzenberger

 

She couldn’t pronounce the letter “v.” And, yet, stunningly, her name began with a “v.” Valma. A student in my beginner English class, she could read and write fairly well. But her lips couldn’t seem to form into the required shape for certain sounds of the English alphabet. The letter “v” especially bewildered her.

I remember exaggerating my own mouth movements, setting my upper teeth firmly on my lower lip to help her see what her mouth needed to do. She would glance at me and laugh at my contorted lower face, then half-try, and finally fail as her lips met in a very distinct “b” sound. Balma.

She couldn’t pronounce her own name properly.

But I could. So could several of her fellow students, themselves learners of the English language. We could name her.

In her book, Walking on Water, Madeleine L’Engle writes on the power of naming. Of course, in her case, she is not referring simply to the act of verbalizing one another’s names. I especially love how L’Engle writes about the power of stories to “help us become whole, to become Named.”

My student’s challenge with pronouncing her own name could be a kind of picture for any one of us who struggles with feeling less than whole. We may be so broken we can’t even name ourselves. We need someone else to speak over us.  

It’s interesting to me that labels and names stand so close in meaning, and yet they carry completely different connotations.

We slap labels on pickles and Amazon packages. Our minds pin invisible labels on our neighbours, church acquaintances, and in-laws. Left-wing. Right-wing. Charismatic. Selfish.

Many of us may need to peel off labels we or others have pasted on ourselves over the years. Inadequate. Failure. Stupid. Sloppy.

Labels suit pickle jars perfectly.

But they can harm humans terribly. Labels should come with a warning: Not for use on people.

However, the act of naming is a completely different story.

He has been named athlete of the year.
We named her after my sister.
They have been named in our will.
We just named our chickens.

Naming in our regular vernacular carries the idea of bestowing – bestowing recognition, honour, possessions, even personality.

L’Engle also adds this notion of naming as a way to become whole, to become more fully who we were meant to be.

“When we name each other, we are sharing in the joy and privilege of incarnation,” L’Engle writes.

My question is, how can we contribute to the wholeness of one another as Christian writers? How can we name each other?

Again, L’Engle offers a clue. We name one another – that is, we contribute to one another becoming more whole -- as we create and enjoy art that “leads us to living more deeply with Christ in God.”

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, may we all as Christian writers continue to fulfill this calling on our lives until He returns.

Reference: L'Engle, Madeleine. Walking on Water : Reflections on Faith & Art. Wheaton, Ill. :H. Shaw, 1980.

Michelle and her family enjoy hiking mountains and trails together. She is currently writing a series  called, What Growing Up in a Mennonite Family of 10 Taught Me About Survival. To receive the bi-weekly tips, visit this link and subscribe.