I was told I was named by my grandmother, who's name I do not know, and somehow I have very little memories of her. I only know her as a woman of God, who had faith that can move mountains. She passed away when I was about 9 years old. And I've only met her a couple of times. I've heard stories about her. But there is one story that stuck to my head. The day she took her last breath, she yelled "Hallelujah" 3 times.
I don't understand why people have two names - the first name and a second name, others even have three names. But perhaps it is to make a person even more unique or it has just become a trend. I have two names. I was told my first name was taken from the bible. I do not know exactly who I was named after. But I know that my name is a kind of tree. It is a tree that produces nuts. Trees are steady, strong, deeply rooted to the ground. Trees go through seasons and change. I do not know if I live up to this definition. But I definitely like to keep my feet on the ground. I was told my second name was a mistake. My parents misspelled it and thus, I was given a boy's name. I did a little research on what this name means. It means woods or forest. Growing up, I disliked my second name. I've always left it out whenever I had to write or say my full name. I thought it was a bit too boyish. But as I grew older, I noticed how I'm not really a girly girl type of girl. I like things rowdy. I played the drums. I was in the basketball team. I loved skateboarding. I thought wearing baggy pants and huge shirts made me look cool. Thus, my second name suited me quite well.
When I was going through the phase of finding myself, I thought I'd come up with a nickname for myself. I made everyone call me by that name. It made me feel as though I were more special. I spelled it in a funny way too. I used 3 Es instead of just a plain Y. I have outgrown that phase but people know me by that name now. I realized those that know me well use that name to call me.
A name may be given to you but in the end, it is only you who defines that name. So what would you like your name to mean?
I'm so glad that you decided to start on this project! I hope that God will truly minister to you!
ReplyDeleteI remember you in secondary school but oddly, the memory is all hazy (lols, excuse the pun). But I know, from experience that our past brings dynamic to our lives. Names don't define but they do give us drive.
Names have power - not just because of what they mean, but because of the memories and experiences that they encapsulate. We associate whole portions of our life to names. But isn't it wonderful that even a name that we associate with pain can later be redeemed?
Actually in an odd twist of events - I'm beginning to warm up to the idea of Agatha again. I just needed Xaris (Grace) first to be Agatha (Good) in the end. :-)