Susan, a poem by Susan Barclay

 

Susan

 

My name means lily

Purity, humility, devotion

Admirable traits indeed

Though not what I’d call thrilling

 

A storybook name

My mother says

One for each of her

Two little girls

 

A popular name

In my generation

Number one

The year I was born

 

We lilies come

In many colours

And add fragrance

To the world

 

We like the sun

And some of us the water

We’re strong and elegant

All at once

 

We bloom

Even in unlikely places

Even in the desert

Even here and now

 

I am Susan. I am a lily

I am blooming

Right in the spot

Where He planted me

c. Susan Barclay, 2021

________________________

You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

Living Water by Lynn J Simpson

In my early years, I remember my mother calling me her “little fish” when she’d beckon me out of my best friend’s backyard pool to come home for dinner. Those summer dinners I often ate still wearing my wet bathing suit while sitting on a towel covered chair. My dripping hair was bleached white from daily swims in chlorine treated pools and drying from summer sun. I’d eat quickly, eager to get back to swimming, ignoring the ‘wait until an hour after you eat’ rule. No rule could stop me from swimming, except no swimming in a thunder storm. 

I loved being in the water, especially holding my breath under the water as long as possible while diving to the bottom of the deep end or swimming lengths without taking a breath. Our summer vacations were spent at lakes where we could jump off docks and ride waves on blow-up air mattresses. When not in the pool, my friends and I would be on our bikes riding to the shores of Lake Ontario to skip rocks over the waves and chase seagulls on the beach. I miss those waters.

Now I live in the prairies where lakes are smaller than the Great Lakes of Canada. But I still naturally seek out waters, whether it be the urban ponds or the city river. I spend as much time as I can in the Rocky Mountains drawn to places like Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake in Jasper, and if you were to take me on a road trip where waters appear alongside highways, my gaze would never be directed at you, only at the waters we are passing by. I can’t help it. I am living up to my name.

The name Lynn is Gaelic and Old English in origin, meaning “lake”, “waterfall” or “pool.” It is said the name would have probably been first given to a family living near a body of water. Maybe my city-born mother had a sense that I’d be drawn to waters so chose my name. She’s gone now so I cannot ask her why she named me Lynn. However, there is no denying that out of all my siblings, I was (am) the ‘fish’ of the family. 

Sandi Somers began our month’s theme of “What is in a name”  showing us how God has His hand in our names even when another names us. God gave her a verse that also represents the meaning of her name. 

“Sandra means helper. In my twenties God gave me a verse which signified the special type of helper God meant me to be.

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakes me and opens my understanding to his will. (Isaiah 50:4)”

I, too, have a verse that God gave me shortly after being emerged fully into waters during baptism. 

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38

Water is an essential element for our survival. Our body cells, organs, and tissues need water to survive. Our body weight is approximately 60% of water. Even our brain is made up of 75% H2O. Low water intake or dehydration can cause muscle fatigue and weakness, and confusion. Is not the word of God as essential as water? I know if I become dehydrated from lack of His word, I become more worrisome, less energetic and overall confused of next steps to take. Accepting His ‘living water’ gift of the Holy Spirit brings us not only direction for our days, but eternal life forever. 

Jesus’ time among us was spent on waters. He traveled by boat, He walked on the Sea Galilee, and fished with His friends, the disciples. The bible tells us of Jesus miracles including feeding 5,000 with just five bread loafs and two fish, and the miraculous catching of 153 fish when appearing to seven disciples after His death. It was after Peter witnessed this miracle that he changed from fisherman to evangelist. Like Peter, although we have not physically encountered Jesus, our life’s are changed when we drink in His words. 

Swimming in waters, seeing the breath-taking beauty of Rocky Mountain lakes, and resting beside ocean waters replenish my mind and spirit. However, it is His living waters that flow within me that I cannot live without. 

Jesus is our essential nourishment. 

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty'" (John 6:35).

You can read more and see more of Lynn's photography for rest and renewal at Lynn's website. 

Growing Into It by Marcia Lee Laycock

Photo by Marcia Lee Laycock

                                                        

They called him “Corner” because whenever anyone went near him he’d run into a corner and quiver. When I saw the grey husky-shepherd cross for the first time he was outside, running through the bush, low to the ground like a wolf on the prowl. My friend told me he was going to have to shoot him if someone didn’t come along and take him away. So I decided to try. It took me a week to get close enough to touch him and another few days before I could get a collar and leash on him.

Once at home I began a rehabilitation program – good food, lots of soft words and kind pets. And a name change. Corner became Klondike. He took to his name well and was eager to please me as I began to train him. My neighbour said he looked like a cartoon character, with ears that were too big for his face and paws that told us he was going to be a big dog. As time went on, Klondike grew into his ears and his paws and his name. He became my constant companion, ever obedient and extremely protective. Klondike became my guardian angel and I know he saved me on more than one occasion.

As I saved Corner, giving him a new name and a new life, Jesus did the same for me. Shortly after I yielded my will and my life to Him, I opened my new Bible and read this verse: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are mine” (Isaiah 43:1, NKJV).

That was a significant moment for me because for much of my life people had called me by a name that was not mine. My mother, whose heritage was British, named me Marcia, pronounced Mar-see-uh with the accent on the first syllable. At home I was Marci. But when I went to school my teachers began calling me Marsha. I was too shy to correct them and although I disliked it, went along with that name and that identity until I was out of high school. At university I insisted that everyone call me by the name my mother had given me.

To this day people often mispronounce my name, either using Marsha or putting the emphasis on the last syllable. But now it doesn’t bother me so much, because I know the One who created me knows my name. That’s all that matters.

It matters, too, that I live up to the name I’ve been given. I don’t want to be like Abigail’s husband, Nabal, whom she said lived up to his name, which meant stupid. (Read the story in 1 Samuel 25). I’d rather be like Simon whose name was changed to Peter (the rock) and who grew into that name as God strengthened and guided him into his new identity as a leader of His church. Or Abram, who became Abraham and Sarai who became Sarah. They grew into their names too, as they fulfilled the destiny God had planned for them.

So what’s in a name? Identity is wrapped up in it. As we grow into the identity we were meant to have, we grow into the name we have been given – Children of God.

“… that you become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world ...” (Philippians 2:15).

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Visit my website to learn more about my writing and speaking ministry.

 

 

 

What’s in Your Name? by Sandi Somers

 

Image by Sandi Somers

While teaching ESL, I learned a lot about names from different countries. I discovered that the name Bol Angelo Yei was from the Nuer tribe of South Sudan. The name Michael or Solomon or Thomas usually comes from the Indian state of Kerala, where the Apostle Thomas took the gospel. Any name that includes “Jeet” or “Singh” comes from the Punjab state in India.

Sometimes I met families who gave their children special names. A Kurdish mother called her son, "No Home", and the other, "Poor", (in Kurdish), profound names to signify that the Kurds have no homeland--they're spread across Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Armenia. Following World War I, European powers carved new nations in the Middle East without regard to such people as the Kurds.

I also saw how my ESL students felt when their names weren't valued. In Elizebeth’s immigration process, someone documented her as “Elizabeth”. “But that’s not the way I spell my name,” she said. Vuoy, a Vietnamese girl of the boat people era, objected to her teacher calling her “Nugyen,” not realizing that Nguyen was her last name and that the Vietnamese write their family names first.

When I value the name of a person, I think of the words of the writer Margaret Shull:

There is something about knowing and calling a person by name that gives dignity and worth to that individual. To look someone in the eye and say his or her name communicates knowledge, often times warmth, and a sense of value. I care enough to know your name. To listen, talk together, share.

All of the above gave me a context for Biblical names. Isaiah gave his son the name, “Shea-jashub”, which means “A remnant will return”. This signified that God had promised to return His people from captivity. “Jesus” meant “Saviour”, or “He who shall save his people.”

Then I sometimes wondered why Scripture says: “The Name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and rare safe” (Proverbs 18:10), and why we sing, "Blessed be the Name of the Lord". Why Name? On thinking this through, I recognized that in Biblical times, names equalled the person and identified their essence. This is something we don’t usually think of when we name our children.

Today our parents may have given us a name because they liked it, because it was a popular name at the time, or because it was the name of an ancestor. 

My parents gave me the name Sandra because they liked it. However, God had a hand in it, as He divinely chose it for me to fulfill a part of God’s story of redemption for the world. "I have called you by name, you are mine," He said in Isaiah 43:1. Sandra means helper. In my twenties God gave me a verse which signified the special type of helper God meant me to be.

The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will (Isaiah 50:4)

Ever since that time, I have wanted to live up to that honour.

But there is another significance to our names. I read in Revelation that God will have a special bestowment for us:  

To the one who is victorious, I will give… that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it (Revelation 2:17).

The idea of my future new name resonated deeply and brought tears. Will it be a sign of how my life has contributed to God’s kingdom? For how I brought glory to Him? For how I have carried out His mission for me? For sure I want to finish well and hear God’s words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and hear Him say, “Your name on earth was Sandra/Sandi, and now I give you the new name, ____.” What an honour that will be!

 Now over to you.

What does your name mean?

How and why did your parents choose your name (if you know)?

What implication does your name have for you in your growth of faith and writing?

Or perhaps you can write about how you chose your children’s names.

What implications did their names have for your hopes and God’s purposes for their lives?

 NOTE on our previous contributors:

Joylene Bailey wrote on how her parents chose her name and what it means to her life and writing.

Ruth Snyder also reflected on the meaning of her name.