Since we started our adoption journey we have considered lots of different names but honestly we haven't thought too much about it until here recently. We always knew that we really wanted to know her birth name first and then decide. However, all along, Isabel wanted to name her sister Lucy. When she was 3 or 4 she would always name her babies Lucy and when we asked her what she thought we should name her sister she instantly said, "Lucy." We always liked the name but again, we never really thought more about it. Over the past 3 years we have thrown different names around and looked through baby books but nothing ever really jumped out but Lucy would always come back.
In late April, while I was journaling and praying for our daughter, I really felt the Lord lead me to pray for her name (We later found out that this is the time that she was born). I prayed that we would know the name that He had for her. As I started writing, Lucy kept coming to my mind again. Fast forward to May 31st. That was the day we got the call and heard our daughter's birth name. We feel strongly about keeping that name because it connects her to her culture and her birth family. We are not allowed to share that name online but once we heard it and what it meant we loved the thought of putting Lucy with it. Lucy means light. The Sunday after we got the call, our pastor began the sermon on 1 John and what it means to "be in the light." Brian and I both looked at each other and said, "Lucy....light."
When you combine her two names it means "Light born in the rain." A Light shining through and leading her.
I also read Ezekiel 34....it is all about how the Lord will seek out His people, His sheep. He will search for them and find them. In verse 16 it says, "I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak." Later in verse 26 it says, " And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land."
Way back when I attended the first Created for Care retreat in 2011, I participated in a really special worship and prayer time. I went from station to station praying and asking the Lord what to pray for and poured out my heart to him. I prayed about everything. We were just starting our adoption journey. I came to one station where we were asked to paint. I picked up a brush and before I started I said, "Lord, what is it that you want me to know?" I heard the word, "Flourish." I said, "Flourish? Like to grow and bloom?" "Yes, your family will flourish." So, I drew a seed, then a plant, then a tree with leaves and branches and roots. I have kept the drawing and over the past 2 years this word has come to mind so many times. Once at church, our pastor said, "Today I feel like the Lord has give me the word "Flourish" to remind you all that God wants you to flourish and grow. He is blessing you when you don't even know it."
What started out as a seed....a whisper in my heart to adopt, has grown and grown. The growth hasn't always been comfortable and at times it has been painful but we are seeing the fruit.
With the Light and the showers of blessing, we receive the gift of a precious little girl and count it as a privilege and honor that we could watch her grow and flourish into the beauty that He created her to be.
Lucy "R"
amazing!!! It's so awesome how God is in all the details :)
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