What's in a Name?

As everyone now knows we are having three babies which meant that we had to come up with three baby names. At first we thought that it was going to be a pretty easy task, yet we have quickly discovered that it is a lot more difficult than we had originally thought. In the beginning (for some odd reason) we thought that we were having two girls and a boy so we had the names picked out. Then we discovered that we are having two boys and a girl and for some reason it has been a lot more difficult to pick out a boy name than a girl name. Michael and I have played with a variation of names and it was important that each name be different. I know that many people will refer to them as “the triplets,” yet to us they are three very different people who will have different personalities, talents, and gifts. They are not a bundle package to us and it was important that it also be reflected in their names as well as in the ways that we will treat them. The one thing that these three babies have in common is that I am carrying them all at the same time—they have their own sacs, placentas, and are already separated by a membrane. So, no offense to anyone that has rhyming names or everyone’s name starts with the same letter I wanted something else for these babies. We wanted these babies to know that they are each special to us in their own ways and we will try our hardest to always treat them with that individuality. I don’t want anyone of them to be overlooked or clumped together—they are three separate people who will share a common bond in the fact that they were all carried at the same time in my womb. I’m sure we have not thought of everything yet we have tried to be purposeful in our planning for these three babies. We are not buying any matching outfits or making their names match in anyway. It was also important to us that they each have their own name so there will be no Michael Jr.’s or Anna Jr.’s.  So, yes they will each contain parts of Michael and me so they will resemble us maybe in their looks, personalities, or gifts, yet I want them to know that they are unique and special to us in their own ways. I know that many of you might be thinking right now that we have completely over thought this process yet each of these things are important to us. And then to add something on top of that—we also wanted the names to have a special meaning and their names to tell a story. So, I will tell you their names and in the process I will also share some of my story and our story together.

Ethan Thomas

   -Ethan: Strong & optimistic, solid & enduring, and permanent

   -Thomas: John 20: 24-29

So, why did we choose Ethan Thomas? We picked out this name together and it has special meaning to us. Ethan means strong and optimistic, solid and enduring, and permanent. His name is such a testament to our story and how God has been faithful to us through this. Ethan the Ezrahite also wrote Psalm 89…here are some parts of it

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;

With my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations

I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

The heavens praise your wonders, Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones

For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?

In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;

In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him

Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?

You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you

And then the middle name—Thomas. This story is also particularly dear to my heart. I have also always identified with Thomas because he is a doubter. I can’t say that I have been the most optimistic person on this journey—I have always been a doubter. I doubted that this could even work and each time a cycle failed then my doubts were confirmed. My feelings of inadequacy resurfaced as I learned of a failed treatment. The doctor told us before we started that he was about 100% confident that I could never conceive on my own and would need the assistance of medication. It hurt to accept that truth yet we were excited when we first started fertility treatment. When the first one failed we tried to move forward and then the second one failed—we had a positive reading mid-cycle and I was confident that it had worked that time. And then by the time the third round came my heart was broken and I was not in it. And then we moved on to bigger & stronger drugs—I tried not to doubt that time but she told us from the beginning that there was only a 25% chance of success. Michael tried to be the optimistic one in our relationship throughout the process yet I know it was disappointing for him, at times, as well. So, then we went into our IUI. I was not optimistic. In order for a follicle to be mature they told us that my follicles needed to be 18mm—mine were 16mm, 15mm, and 12mm. And my estrogen levels weren’t that high. I doubted in the success of this to say the least. And then at 8 ½ weeks we found out that I was carrying three babies—triplets. The doctor was also in shock at the results. She again shared my numbers with us and told us that according to research I should not have these babies. She could offer us no explanation for these three babies. That moment was such a confirming moment to me that God had a plan for us and that these three babies would be okay. I also thought of Thomas and his doubt. And I thought of Peter on the boat and Jesus responded, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” I think God could also have a sense of humor and I know he was laughing with us as Michael and I stared at each other and all we could do was laugh at the thought of having three babies. We still laugh about having three babies and wonder what we are doing.

Naomi Elise:

     -Naomi: beautiful

     -Elise: (variant of Elizabeth) – “God’s promise or God is my vow”

So, why did we choose Naomi Elise? The name Naomi was one that I had picked out several years ago even before we were married. It is a name that came to have great meaning to me on my journey of healing. I often identified with Naomi and her story in the Bible; however, I never really finished reading the story. In the beginning of the Book of Ruth it shares Naomi’s story. She has lost everything—she has lost her husband, her sons, and is now about to lose her daughter-in-laws. She now has to leave her country and move back home. She is so bitter with God and she says in Ruth 1:20-21, “She said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” I identified with Naomi’s words and I felt that God had done the same to me. I identified with her bitterness, hurt, and pain. I found comfort that she felt the same way that I did. However, I never truly finished Naomi’s story and saw the beauty in it until a few years ago. When I was finally able to address my pain and find healing then I was also able to see how God redeemed Naomi’s story as well. At the end of the story Ruth is redeemed by Boaz and through them Naomi is given a grandson. In 4:14-17 it says, “Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer…Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.” So, I decided that if I ever had a daughter that I would name her Naomi. It would be a reminder to me of the pain I had experienced but more than anything it is a reminder that God can redeem our pain and suffering and turn it into something beautiful. Thus, Naomi means “beautiful.”

We choose the middle name Elise together. When Michael told me the name I loved the way it sounded, yet I fell more in love with it once I found out what it meant. It means “God’s promise or God is my vow” and it is also a variant of Elizabeth. In the New Testament, Elizabeth was barren and God gave her a child. So this little girl is an answer to our prayers and she is beautiful to us in every single way. She is a fulfillment of God’s promise to us and we couldn’t be happier to have her in our lives.

Levi Joshua

  -Levi: Joined, combined, attached, pledged to, or joined in harmony

  -Joshua: God Rescues

So, why did we choose Levi? His name took us the longest to come up with. We have tossed around a lot of names and I have looked up the meanings of countless names. And then we had it narrowed down to two names and I told Michael that he should choose the final name. I thought it would be an easy pick for him because he has always loved a certain name; however, in the end Michael choose Levi which I love. I think that his name is the cultimation of our journey and it is symbolic of our marriage. Michael and I are joined together in love and as a result of our love for each other we have created Levi. I also love the story of Levi in Mark 2 and if he is at all like his father then he will be someone who joins people together and he will be a connecter of others. 

 And then we have Joshua which means God rescues. I think this is a more personal part of my story. In Joshua 6 it tells the story of the battle of Jericho—it begins by saying that Jericho “was shut up inside and outside…none went out and none came in.” God sent Joshua to Jericho to tear down the walls of the city. Symbolically, the only ones who survived were Rahab’s family and Rahab is the mother of Boaz who later marries Ruth (Naomi’s daughter-in-law). I started going to counseling again when we were going through fertility—it was a difficult time for me as a lot of things I thought I had dealt with resurfaced. I remember one session, in particular, where she asked me what it would take to tear down the walls that I had built around my heart—the walls of lies that I believed to be true about myself. The lies that I was inadequate as a woman and wife, that I was “the problem,” that this situation was my fault, and that I was broken. I remember thinking about it and I told her that with every failed cycle it was as if reality slapped me in the face and confirmed what I believed to be the worst in myself. I remember her asking me what it would take to prove those beliefs wrong and my answer was “a baby.” I thought that if God worked the impossible and I became pregnant then I would have to give up the false beliefs about myself. Those lies could no longer be true if I had a baby because it would mean that I was adequate, I wasn’t the problem, that this wasn’t my fault, and that I wasn’t broken. I know that if I never became pregnant I would have had to still resolve these feelings about myself, yet during that time I believed that a baby would refute every lie I had ever told myself. A baby would mean that the walls would come down because they would no longer have a foundation to stand on. So, as Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came down—God also fought for me and He rescued me from myself. God rescued me and then He gave us three babies as proof that He is still in the business of doing great things.

So, what’s in a name? Everything. These names are a testament to the great work that God has done in my life and in our lives together. It was a crazy journey and we aren’t finished yet! I am so blessed that I have Michael on this journey with me—there is no way I would have made it without him by my side. He is a constant source of affirmation and he continually reminds me how he loves me no matter what. I’m not sure words can express just how much I love him.

I will finish with this- Hannah prayed in 1 Samuel 1:27-28, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore, I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”