What's in a Name?

Choosing a name for our children has always been an extremely important process for both Jake and I, as I'm sure it is for many people of faith. Biblically, names have always carried a TON of meaning. There are hundreds of names for God and/or Jesus, and if you pay attention, you'll see that God gives prophetic wisdom to His people as they choose names for their children. The reason is that words are powerful and carry meaning, and thus names denote an essence of character or purpose for each of God's people. He chose them before time began. They are kind of a big deal.  

"In Hebrew, a name is not merely a convenient conglomeration of letters. Rather the name reveals its essential characteristic. The Midrash (Genesis Raba 17:4) tells us that the first man, Adam, looked into the essence of every creature and named it accordingly. The donkey, for example, is characterized by carrying heavy, physical burdens. So in Hebrew, the donkey is named chamor – from the same root as chomer, which means materialism. (Contrast this with English, where the word "donkey" doesn't reveal much about the essence of a donkey!) The same idea applies to names of people. For example, Leah named her fourth son Judah (in Hebrew, Yehudah). This comes from the same root as the word "thanks." The letters can also be rearranged to spell out the holy Name of God. The significance is that Leah wanted to particularly express her "thanks to God." (Genesis 29:35)" http://www.aish.com/jl/l/b/48961326.html 

Jake and I had almost no problem at all coming up with names for Eli and Eden. It was almost like God literally whispered the names in our ears, and we were both 100% confident about both of them from the beginning of the pregnancy (or before - God showed me Eden's name before Eli was even born!). In fact, if we ever have another boy, God has already given us both a name for him as well. But when we found out that we were having a girl this time, we were at a TOTAL loss about a name! We prayed about it, and decided to give it some time, but to be honest, it was freaking me out a little bit that the others had come so easily, and this was just plain hard! We exhausted all the baby books and online resources. We read forums and Hebrew name listings, and talked to so many friends to see what names they liked. I had more than a few that I loved, but Jake didn't like any (this was a tad bit frustrating for me, especially since he couldn't really suggest many himself). I would soon realize that my super-discerning, picky husband would be a wonderful gift to me, and the reason we ended up choosing the name that God ultimate wants for our little girl, rather than just a pretty-sounding name that I happened to like.

As the months went by, I started feeling a little disconnected than I had in previous pregnancies. Not only had we always learned the gender, but by knowing the name ahead of time, we had been able to talk to them more intimately, bond with them more deeply, think about the "essence" of their character, their possible futures and giftings, etc. I was getting worn out emotionally as I considered the fact that we may just have to "settle" on a name (rather than "THE" name)...and we'd probably have a baby who sadly goes unnamed for like 3 weeks after she is born. I couldn't hear God (at least not clearly), and to be honest, I probably wasn't listening...or trusting, for that matter.

Then one day, I came across a name that I loved and had never heard before: Azriel/Azrael, which is technically a boy's name in Hebrew, but means "God is my aid/help," and is a lot like "Israel." <3 <3 It reminded me of Arielle/Ariel, which Jake's sister had loved and recommended to us after we revealed the gender (but was a bit too over-used/trendy and reminiscent of mermaids for me, even though I do love the sound and meaning of the name). I was all excited that this could be "the one," until Jake started researching it and figured out that it's also the name of the angel of death in many religions, not to mention a really creepy heavy metal band. It kind of lost its appeal after that, unfortunately. So sad :(

I went up to my room to fold laundry (and mourn a little bit), and out of nowhere, I heard as clear as a bell in my head:

ABRIELLE

My heart leaped as I called to Jake and immediately started praying for confirmation and asking God if this was really it. Not only was it beautiful, but the potential nicknames are SO adorable (Bri, Brielle, Elle, Ella, and my personal favorite - Abri). Jake, who was rather sick of the conversation at this point, said it was pretty, but after a quick look at the computer, informed that it wasn't Hebrew or Biblical (which is important to us). It happens to be a name in Italian and French which is similar to "Gabriel" or "Gabrielle," meaning "God is my strength." Still a cool meaning, but not Hebrew. Heart sinks. Again.

It was at this point that I sort of "gave up." I could have sworn I heard God's voice on this, but maybe He still had another one in mind, and I just had to be patient. For the first time, I was patient. We had others that came up on the radar, but nothing gave me that spirit-leap like Abrielle. So we waited and kept praying. You know when God has already answered a prayer and made it abundantly clear to you, but you're so blind that you just keep asking Him about it over and over? Yeah...(insert palm to forehead). Finally, I happened to see the name "Abri" online one day, and out of curiosity decided to look it up. It's a name in many languages (including Italian and Hebrew), and it's basically the feminine version of Abraham (another well-known Hebrew name), which means "father of many nations."  The feminine "Abri" could also mean "mother of many nations," but I still loved the father meaning for some reason (weird for a girl's name, right??). Then it HIT me like God had finally decided to smack me over the head with it in the clearest way possible (thank you Lord!). "El" in Hebrew means God, and denotes His might, strength, and power. We chose ELi ("the Lord is my God") and Eden ELizabeth (delight, God is my oath) with that in mind. Suddenly, I realized that ABRI EL DOES have meaning in Hebrew; it just didn't exist as a formal name yet!! And it's meaning brought me to tears: GOD is FATHER over MANY NATIONS! It's like a prophetic statement of declaration every time it is spoken. On top of that, it also means (in other languages) "God is my strength," which, after all of the issues I've had this pregnancy (low progesterone/borderline miscarriage, health problems, early contractions, early dilation, apparent growth issues, etc.), I KNOW for a fact that God gave this precious little girl the strength to survive it all! And I know He'll continue to be her strength as she lives her life, with a character that speaks to God's authority over, and love for the nations. It's amazing to think I had doubted God for even one second with this. He is SO good, and we can't wait to meet our beautiful
                                              strong, 

                                                           chosen 

                                                                          little world-changer,
                                                                                                              ~Abrielle~

in just a few more weeks. <3