I was planning to write this post next, but was spurred to write it earlier in the day; due to a friend's question and also having a very contented baby at the moment:).
Many people pick their baby name based on popularity, uniqueness or in honor of a special family member. The first name came easily for us. We'd surrendered to the Lord in the area of the number of children he wanted us to have. We were content with the ones we had, but prayed that if the Lord wanted us to have another baby that He would help me not to be sick and also that we'd really like another boy. I think that Caleb was praying for a little brother too. Amazing how God chooses to answer the specific prayers of little ones:). Anyway, on the way to the ultrasound I was talking to the Lord. I had the thought that it might be a girl, but told the Lord that we especially wanted to have him use this little life for His glory and honor. We know that our children belong to the Lord and that we need His help to raise them right. We need to be yielded to His plan for their lives instead of molding them into our own little clones. When we found out that we WERE having a boy, the name Samuel just seemed right from the start. It means "heard and asked of the God". God truly heard our prayers. I had nausea, but wasn't throwing up like with all the other pregnancies. This was an amazing blessing! To be able to keep up with the other kids and all the activity last summer was wonderful!
As to the middle name. I know many people are curious as to why we picked it. The meaning of the name is great(One who is very strong and courageous:Having great stamina or resistance), but that was not the reason for our choice. My husband's pastor growing up was Gordon Ironside. He was a very special man. Many preachers would give up and move elsewhere if their church remained small for more than 5 years, but this was not the case with Pastor Ironside. He was faithful and stayed til the end of his life, even though it was down to Scott's family for the greater portion of that time. We believe that his life had a greater impact on those around him and not the half will be known until we reach Heaven. His faithfulness has been an encouragement to us many times since we moved to Saskatchewan and in our personal lives too! Since we got married I've been blessed to meet some of Pastor Ironside's nieces and one of his brothers. They've also been an incredible encouragement to us and for these and many other reasons we chose to give Samuel the middle name of "Ironside". We pray that the Lord will use him in a mighty way. We pray that he will love the Lord and serve Him with the same dedication and faithfulness that many in the Ironside family have shown over the years.
We may not think that the choosing of a name is all that important, but we really do feel that it's best to give them a name to live up to. Many of the names we hear hear these days make us think of food and other ridiculous things. I wonder what most of those kids will strive for as they get older. How many of them will change their names when they're on their own? We pray that there's no confusion in this area for our children. We pray that they know they are the Lord's and that He has a purpose and a plan for their life.
Thank you for this great honour to my Uncle Gordon and to our family. He loved you all so much and was deeply involved in your lives - evidenced ultimately by the fact that he personally chose Scott to conduct his funeral. May his little namesake grow to be a faithful man of God, willing to serve Him wherever He leads and in whichever direction. We love you.
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