What's in a Name

The following is a devotional I wrote 6 years ago.


Fawn1 / fôn / n. 1 deer in its first year 2 light yellowish brown---adj.
Fawn2 v. 1 behave servively (of or like a slave) 2 show extreme affection [OE]




Have you ever considered how your name has an immediate impact on the person you are or will become? Read several articles or books, and they will all tell you to choose your child's name carefully. There are websites that can analyze your name and provide you with your astrological chart. They have publications that can characterize you based solely on the meaning or letters in your name.

When I was a teenager, my cousin and I used to play a game in which we would write a boy's whole name with our name, assign numbers to the letters, and then add the numbers to ours. The sum of the numbers informs you whether or not the boy "loved" you. It's funny how we play games as youngsters, never realizing that there is always some truth in error. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not claiming the children's game was perfect, but the notion was there---what's in a name?

When I researched my name I was amazed to find the meaning of my name so closely paralleled the woman I was/am. Lets break it down, shall we? With the exception of the common meaning that Fawn means baby deer, Fawn also means light yellowish brown. Well, oddly enough I must admit that my skin tone is one of a light yellowish-brown complexion. Fawn also means to behave of or like a slave, I am not ashamed to admit at one time, I have behaved with a slave mentality. Lastly, Fawn means to show extreme affection as in---Why is she fawning all over you? Herein again, I have to acknowledge that I have behaved in such a way in the past. You think my mother knew that I would so closely become the name she chose for me? Honestly, I don't think so. My mother was a Waccamaw Indian, so I think she was doing what is common in that ethnic group and that is to name your children after things of nature.

Who am I, you ask?


That is an excellent question---I could never answer that question for myself until recently. For years, I battled to define myself. I was always finding a way to become what people required of me. My life, like many others, has been littered with tragedy and disappointment; I believe what matters is how you cope with that tragedy and disappointment. My mother died when I was 11 years old; my paternal grandmother died when I was 18; my paternal grandfather died when I was 21; my father died when I was 26; and my maternal grandmother died when I was 27. A portion of me would die with each of these deaths, and a part of me would be reborn. Life truly is survival of the fittest, and you either move on or life moves on without you, as I discovered from experience.

After battling depression for four years, low self-esteem for five years, and God for seven years. I eventually realized that who I am as a person does not have to measure up to what people expect of me. I learned that I am a brilliantly constructed, elegantly designed, and carefully designed child of God! I learned that my faith was what nourished and brought me through every valley in my life. I recognized that God was actually a gracious and merciful God. I also understood that God's plan is always meaningful, and it is up to you to be willing to let him show you his plan so you can grasp the past, present, and future.

As humans, we have a tendency to limit God and what he can achieve for us.

We are visual creatures, therefore we need something we can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. If we do not find what we are looking for in one of these five categories, we tend to lose hope, doubt, and disbelieve. What many people overlook is that God uses the five senses to communicate with us on a daily basis. It is up to you to pay attention and apply judgment in how he communicates with you. I've learned to listen for God's voice and to quit expecting the BOOMING dramatic voice from above to come and rescue me or stop me from doing something. When you recognize his minor miracles, pay attention to life on a daily basis, and continuously thank God for his compassion and mercy, you begin to realize that everything is truly underhand. You learn to deeply and passionately love God. You have such a deep dependant relationship with him that when difficulties arise, you can truly say "This, too, shall pass" and BELIEVE IT.

So I'll conclude by asking the question I began with: "What's in a name?" Well, there is comfort in a name, love in a name, strength in a name, courage in a name, peace in a name, patience in a name, determination in a name, success in a name, and most importantly, POWER in a name.

Whatever your name is, remember that you are a child of God and that in his name, you can do anything. So, whether you call him God, Allah, Yahweh, Abba, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-shalom, Jehovah-Shammah, or Jehovah-tsidkenu, never fail to call him.

**I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.** John 14: 12-14 NIV Holy Bible