Names...

Names… ah… We all have them, whether we like them or not.   Some of us have more than others.  My mom has no middle name; the Barlows have 2 middle names.  We all have names, and no matter how many we have, they each mean something.  My whole life, I have always known what my name meant.  At first, I asked my parents and they told me.  Then, I got one of those little cards that has a meaning and a poem on it.  Just throughout my life, I’ve figured out the meaning of my name.

Amy, which comes from the Spanish word for love, Amor, means beloved, or loved.

Christine, which is my middle name, obviously stands for Christ, or Christ-bearer.

I always put my name together, and saw it as “Loved by Christ” and I was proud of it. It’s an amazing name to have.  But, I never actually thought about how it compared to my life.

So, just a little while ago, I started thinking about it, while looking up the meanings of names on a website. I was writing something and I wanted to give a meaningful name to the character in the story I was writing.  So, I started with Amelia, thinking that it probably meant something similar to mine. And after going through a bunch of different names, I settled with Mandy or Amanda, which means “worthy of love.”  This is also very similar to the meaning of my name.  This got me thinking. 

I think I spend a lot of my time, probably way too much, telling myself that nobody loves me.  (Keep in mind, my blog is just a collection of my thoughts, so you’re going to read my imperfections a lot)  I always tell myself that nobody loves me. When people offend me, the first thing I can think of, is “oh they don’t love me.”  That’s just something I do that I need to stop doing...  So, when I was looking up meanings of names and when I started thinking about the meaning of my name, I just got surprised.  All of a sudden, I realized that the thing I say most. “Nobody loves me” is exactly the opposite of the meaning of my name.  My name, Amy, means “beloved.”  And I am loved. I am loved more than I think.  And it took 15 years with this name to figure that out.  I am “beloved” and I am Loved by Christ.  It’s simply amazing how a simple name given to you at birth could mean so much to you later in life.

My mom’s is another good example. My family and I are learning a lot about grace and what it means to give and receive it. It’s come up in a lot of situations this past year.  Well, I was looking up my Mom’s name, which is a really weird one, Anja.  And surprisingly enough, her name means, “Grace of God.”  At the time, I was looking this up; we had just finished talking about grace.  And my Mom says everyday that she is learning to show the grace of God to people around her.  Just the thought that her name means this is incredible to me.  (The little things in life amaze me) :)

Just name after name, you realize this. Rebecca Barlow, for my last example- She always talks about serving God and doing ministry for Him. You can hear her mention that in many interviews and from stage. Her name, Rebecca, means Servant of God. 

It just started with my little 3 letter name, that I always knew meant love, but I never applied it to my life.  Now I realize how important my name is to me.  Every day, my name is a constant reminder that I am loved, and I always will be. 

(The website I used was http://www.name-meanings.com, but I’m sure you can find others too)

So, starting in January, after Christmas, as a new year begins.. 2010, my blog's name will be changed to 'Loved By Christ' in honor of the meaning of my name. I probably won't change the address, but I am changing the name :)

So, I just wanted to share that with you. Have a good day!

*Amy :)