Picking out a name is tricky business. It can't be just anything, and so you go through this whole process and a whole host of names, in what looks on the surface to be a simple process, until you have the One.
Stephanie's middle name is Jean. Jean was her grandmother's name and her mom's middle name and is now, also, Emily's middle name. It was on Nanie's birthday (Stephanie's grandmother, Jean Thompson), near the end of her grace-filled battle with cancer, that we were able to tell her that her first great-granddaughter would be named Emily Jean. My name is Albert Sanvidge Watts, a name I could not be more honored to carry, which was given to me for my uncle, Albert Lewis Sanvidge, who passed away a month before my birth.
In the same way, for our second daughter we wanted a name that was beautiful for our little girl and holds significance for what we value: our faith and our family.
The Scriptures tell the story of a young lady, barren and heartbroken, who goes before the Lord in the Temple to pray. Month after month, year after year she has waited and yet, still without child, she prays to God for a son whom she will then raise to serve the Lord all the days of his life. Encouraged by the priest to "go in peace," she leaves the Temple, trusting in God to answer her prayer, despite all the years' worth of reason she has to doubt it. Hannah's prayer was answered, as we know, and the Lord gave her a son named Samuel, who would go on to be the prophet to lead Israel and ultimately anoint David as King over God's people. The grace that God showed Hannah in answering her prayers helped to set the stage for the greatest act of grace, the one in which God sent his Son to live, die and rise again for his people.
In the line of biblical heroines, Hannah shines brightly. Her name means grace, and that trait clearly describes what God gave to her and through her to his people. Marked by this grace and faith, by perseverance and strength, by love and hope, Hannah shows us today the qualities of a godly lady.
Beth (Elizabeth), Stephanie's mom, is not unlike Hannah and is characterized by the same traits. With the grace and faith given to her in Christ and with all the beauty, strength and hope of a godly woman, she has given her daughters an outstanding example to follow as they follow Christ.
With these two godly women in mind, we could not be more honored and pleased to name our daughter
Hannah Elizabeth Watts
Hannah, may God give you grace through his Spirit to live by faith, and may his kindness to you be evidence to the world around you of the reality of Christ Jesus. We love you and wait for your arrival with great anticipation!
