What's in a name?

So, early January we found out that I was pregnant with our fourth child.  We told our other children pretty quickly and they were SO excited.  It was fun to celebrate this with our older children who understood what was to come.  I remember that Noah hopped all over the kitchen.  One thing's certain, that day we all agreed that this baby should be a BOY!  To even things up!!

And, so, in all of our heads this baby became a little boy.  Though we really had no way of knowing!  Over the next several weeks, I dealt with a lot of anxiety about the little one growing inside of me.  I realized this time around, more than ever in my other pregnancies, how many little details are outside of our control as the baby is being formed in the secret of the womb.  I had to actively turn over my fears to the Lord and trust that He is the One who creates and sovereignly sustains all things.

During this time of worry, I started researching baby names just for fun.  One day, I did a search by the meaning of "given by God" and the name Jonathan came up.  Very hard to explain, unless you've personally experienced this, but I just knew that God was forming a son inside my womb, he was absolutely given by God, and his name is Jonathan.  It was very reassuring to me and I held tightly to that when the worry started creeping in.

I think I mentioned this to Jeremy, but daily life quickly took over and he forgot.  Several weeks went by and he came to me one evening.  He said that he had been reading in the Bible, from the book of John, and had an overwhelming sense that we would have a son and his name was to be John (or a version of that name).  I just started smiling and said, "I already know that!"  He actually breathed a sigh of relief, because he was worried I wouldn't agree. 

I cannot tell you how THANKFUL I am God gave us this special gift of a name--Jonathan David--long before we found out about the Spina Bifida.  It has been a constant source of strength when our faith is weak.  This is a child created and named by God, brought into our lives for His purposes.  What peace!!