Pure and Simple By Katie Martha Gerke

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm: 139:14.

My name was always a good yelling name when my mom wanted me to come into the house. Respond to the first Katy Martha. She definitely meant business when she added on the Gerke. “KATIE MARTHA GERKE GET IN THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW!”. 

I love my last name. People found it difficult to pronounce and spell. Gerk, Jerk, Jerky. You can call me Kate or Katie but never Cathy. I grew up with several nicknames: Katie turkey or Perky dog food. My friend’s father always greeted me I "K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katie standing by the kitchen door". 

I was named after both of my grandmothers. Katie is my grandmother Scott’s name and Martha is my grandmother’s name on my father’s side. Katie is Greek meaning “pure” and Martha is Latin translated into Aramaic meaning for “Mistress” or “lady” of the house. Gerke originated in Hamburg Germany where the name contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation. 

Here are some excerpts from my testimony, “Surmounted and Absorbed”, where I was that emerging nation. My narrative describes the rise and fall of who I thought I was to the rejuvenation of who Katie Martha Gerke was meant to be in Christ. I fashioned my narrative around the lifespan of a building’s worth.

I grew up in a non-Christian home with a mother who struggled with alcoholism. As a result, I had no solid foundation, firm supports, trustworthy materials, or a readable blueprint of what “Katie Martha Gerke” (KMG) was supposed to start to look like.

“Pride Incorporated” (PI) was founded in 1988 by Me, Myself, and I. PI was essential in helping Myself,  to build KMG the way I needed to. That being, to sever some relationships and to make a “difference in the world”. And that’s exactly what I did. I signed a three-year contract working as an x-ray technician in the Middle East. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the many nationalities working within the gold-trimmed hospital. It was an exotic and adventurous time.

When I returned home in June 1992, I was handed a lifetime contract, when positively diagnosed with MS. I wandered through Calgary where KMG barely had enough support and financial resources to continue standing on My own two feet. PI was finding it difficult to maintain balance, focus, and cope with unpredictable emotional and physical structural deterioration. I needed new drafting tools and a blank slate to sketch out what KMG was supposed to look like now. Talk about writer’s block!

The Devil’s Demolition Derelicts (DDD), whose sole mission was to wreak havoc and ultimately destroy KMG, successfully crossed over the property line and the explosive devices that were laid in and around me, that I denied so many years, finally triggered, collapsing the edifice that I'd lovingly built into a cloud of fine dust that was blown away by an ill wind. My grief and loneliness led me to the final desperate act of attempting suicide. 

Days later, once home from the hospital, while unpacking my possessions, I found a stuffed white bear with a pink heart on its chest emblazoned with the words:

“Jesus Loves You”.

I embraced that teddy bear and the Message ever so tightly. Two months later I was baptized, and “Pride Inc.” was liquidated and absorbed by a much larger conglomeration of new architects. The proprietors being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, declared that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. 

I soon experienced a feeling of tremendous peace. I knew Jesus Christ would take my slates, wipe them clean of my transgressions, and begin to rewrite the plans that were meant for me from the beginning.  

Project ”KMG” legally expanded to its full Christian name, Katie Martha Gerke thus getting rid of the constricting quotation marks and ambiguous capital letters.

Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.  Revelation 21:7

It’s that simple!

Katie Gerke was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1989 and ever since, significant work continues to be done in and through her regardless of the loss of ability from the neck down. Her inability to use both arms has blessed her with the ability to creatively express herself orally through painting and writing. Katie's website is oralart.ca

What's In a Name? A Lot! by Tracy Krauss

I fully admit to a fascination with names and their meanings, so this month's theme has been a dream, both to write and to read! 

I think I've always loved investigating names. I recall scouring baby name books even at a young age. I must have passed this love on to my own children, for this book, which I acquired when I was a young woman, became a favourite with my kids. (The cover has been repaired more than once.)

When I was pregnant with my own children, I was very intentional about choosing their names. I wanted each one to have a Biblical name, a reference to our family heritage, and a good meaning. Also, I didn't want to choose something that was too popular. (I missed the boat on that one with my son. I thought Zachary was unique at the time - but it has seen an explosion in popularity... I did think I was very clever, however, because his initials also spell his name: ZAK.) 

In any case, to this day I keep a list within sight of my desk with all my children, their spouses, and grandchildren's names on it with their meanings. I use it to pray over them, that their positive characteristics would increase as they step into the destiny God has for them. It has been a great comfort for me at times. 

As for my own name, I admit to feeling disappointed the first time I learned about its meaning. Apparently, Tracy comes from Theresa which means "The Harvester". How boring, I thought! 

Now I choose to think of this in the Biblical sense. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9: 37 - 38 (ESV) I count it a privilege to be among God's harvesters and believe that I can be used in this regard. Even though I have never been comfortable as an evangelist, I believe my writing is one way of reaching people for Christ. 

I also found that Tracy can mean 'Courageous defender" so, again, I like to think that part of my destiny is to defend the gospel. 

I am very proud of the fact that I was named after my paternal grandmother, but that feeling wasn't always the case. (My middle name is Lydia.) As a child, I was embarrassed because I thought it was so old-fashioned. I got over that by the time I was an adult and named my first daughter Lydia. In fact, something rather cool has happened, as you can see from the picture. 

My grandmother's name was Lydia. Her son, my father, was Fred. I named my daughter Lydia. And... she has named her son Fred. (She was born on my Dad's birthday, so they were always very close.) I also had an aunt Lydia and my middle name is Lydia, so as you can see, it is a strong family name. 

I could go on, waxing eloquent about the meanings of each of my children's names and why I chose them, but I won't do that to you. My daughters all seem to be following in my footsteps in that they have chosen very intentional names for each of their children. Suffice to say that there is more to a NAME than meets the eye. 

Tracy Krauss lives and writes in Tumbler Ridge, BC. She is currently serving as InScribe's president. For more visit her website: https://tracykrauss.com -fiction on the edge without crossing the line-