What's in a name

There have been times I wanted to know that I was seen. That there was something special about me. Admit it--we have all felt that way at one time or another. That is why I think the little awards we pass around are nice--they remind us we are seen and are special. We know that we are seen by God and we are special to Him and even so-- sometimes it is nice to have a little human reminder. Maybe God was the one to nudge the person to start the little award circulating? Possibly because He knew we would be needing a little pat? He thinks we are special and He is not going to change His mind. My devotion this morning was about the special meaning of names. We remember in the OT that names had a purpose and stated something about the direction or purpose of a persons life. Do you think our names say something special about us? I don't know about you but my name came from a line of maternity clothing. Hmmmm, guess God had something in mind when He led Mom to that maternity dress. :) Here is the meaning of my name as found on Behind The Name.

SHARON

Gender: Feminine & Masculine Usage: English, Biblical Other Scripts: שָׁרוֹן (Hebrew) Pronounced: SHER-un [key]

From an Old Testament place name meaning "plain" in Hebrew, referring to a fertile plain near the coast of Israel. This is also the name of a type of flowering shrub, the rose of Sh

Hmmmmm, a key to my future?
At least it did not say plane. :)
Here is the devotional if you have time to read it--it was pretty good.

Calling by Name
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman

These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz. - Genesis 36:15

God is big on giving meaning to names. Names often are specific indicators of God's plans and purposes for that individual. A young boy grew up as Moses' servant. His Hebrew name, Hoshea, means "salvation." As the lad grew, Moses could see that he had a "different spirit" from the rest of the Hebrew men. He was selected to be one of the 12 men whom Moses chose to spy out the land of Canaan. Before the expedition, Hoshea was given a new name by Moses-Joshua, which means "the Lord saves." Joshua became the new leader of Israel who would lead them into the Promised Land. He would, in fact, save an entire nation.

In my own journey I had learned that God gave me a name that had something to do with my future call from Him. I was 44 years old and had just gone through two of the most difficult years of my life. During that time, God brought a man into my life who discipled me in areas where I had never been trained. I was discovering many new spiritual truths about myself and Christians in the workplace. I came to identify with the struggles of Esau and Joseph in their desire to understand their own birthrights. I began to write about these discoveries to help other workplace believers understand their own callings through business. One morning on a weekend getaway in the mountains, my friend looked at me and said, "Do you know the meaning of 'Omar'?"

Omar is my first name. My real name is Omar Smallwood Hillman III. Dr. Smallwood had delivered my grandfather. No one, not even my mother, knew the origin of "Omar." They put the "O" and the "S" together to call me "Os."

"You need to know the meaning of 'Omar.' It has something to do with your future," said my friend.

Startled by his assertion, that night I looked up the name of "Omar" on a computer program. Here is what I found:

Arabic for "first son" and "disciple," Hebrew for "gifted speaker," and German for "famous." Rooted in the Middle East, this name is rarely used in the West. Omar was the grandson of Esau. [http://www2.parentsoup.com/babynames/baby/o.html ] (didn't work for me)

I was shocked. I had just completed 300 pages of material on the relationship of Christian businessmen to the life of Esau. My friend quickly concluded that God had called me to free Christian businessmen and women from the "Esau life." And He had allowed me to receive a name that related to the person of Esau. It was the closest thing to a burning bush experience I'd ever had. Could the Lord be this personal with us? Yes, Matthew 10:30 tells us He knows the very hairs of our head.


Does our name hold our purpose or plan for our life? His name does. Like Father like Child.