What's in a name?

Tyrone was very resistant to discuss names for our 3rd child once we found out she was a girl. I was very frustrated by this and gave him a hard time about it rather often. He would calmly say she will have a name before she arrives.

I would occassionally pray about the name she would have. I asked God to direct us to the name that he had chosen for her. Around Christmas time 2010 I was trying to catch up in my read through the Bible in a year in the chronological Bible. I read Acts 16:14, "One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message."I thought that is a pretty name and asked Tyrone what he thought. He gave a half nod of approval and went on with what he was doing.

Baby Girl Washington was due February 9 so I was really getting anxious for a name once the new year began. Tyrone agreed to chose a name on January 16. No special reason for the day, he said, just the day he picked. After some discussion and a little research on her middle name, we settled on Lydia Amaru Washington. We also received the stamp of approval from big brother and big sister, Jeremiah and Maiesha.

On January 30, Pastor David at CFC, was preaching in Acts. Acts 16:14 was in the sermon notes and he read it that day. It was like a confirmation that we had chosen the right name. The very next day my water broke while walking home from campus and Lydia was born at 9:46 that night. That's a story for another day.

Just recently I realized that God completely answered my prayers for directing us to the name he chose for Baby Girl Washington. Had I pressed Tyrone too much and "forced" a name selection earlier, we could have missed Lydia. His timing was perfect as usual. It is so sweet to think that he took the lead even though I tried to jump ahead so many times.

Now my prayer for Lydia will always be that "God will open her heart" so she can respond to Him for all of her days on this earth.