"" Life A Bit Sweeter: Naming Our Daughter....

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Naming Our Daughter....

We're at a place in our adoption where we feel that it is important to name our daughter.  This choice is not because we feel that it's just something 'cute' to do or because we're bored.....goodness gracious....we've got LOTS to keep us busy these days!  We feel it's important because as we fight, save, and raise funds to bring our daughter into her forever family, we need to remind others and ourselves that she is not just another statistic.  She is a child with a heart beat, future, and something amazing to bring to the kingdom of God.  Every single child within the 147 million orphans worldwide has a face and potential.  I remember at one point back in 1979 when my birth mother died, I became a part of the orphan count but because I had a name and a face, my birth father's family took me into their home and claimed me forever as their own daughter.  I need to do the same thing for my daughter.

So without further ado, here's introducing our daughter's name....

How do you pronounce it?
SAY-LAH
I'm continuing to do the research to make sure this is correct in its original translation so if you have any great resources, please point me that way

Why Selah?
Biblically speaking, Selah is often translated to mean in the Psalms as 'to pause'.  It's also been considered to  indicate an instruction to the reader to stop and consider carefully what has been said. In effect, it's a reinforcer: reflect on the above, because it's important.

This is so important for the way that Selah has come into our lives.  As I've shared before, we were living a pretty comfortable life with our 2 boys who are old enough to take care of a lot of their own needs.  Besides helping out our friends and family when they were in a pinch, we in many ways lived in our own little middle-class bubble.  Don't get me wrong, we loved people but served people in the way that Jesus speaks of......I'm not so sure.  Not that helping people locally isn't significant and necessary, but it was almost as if God needed us to pause and reflect on our comfortable life to see that there is a  world beyond the one that we knew that is in dire need of hope.  It was like a STOP MICHELLE JUST FOR A MINUTE!  Come see what I see. See what breaks my heart and let me break yours for what breaks mine.

I look forward to people asking me and Selah how she got her name because it's an invited opportunity to share about God's radical love for each one of us.

So, yep!  That's my baby girl.  (In case you were wondering, her middle name will more than likely be one of her given names provided by whomever in Ethiopia named her.)

Mommy loves you, Selah!

24 comments:

Bex said...

I love her name! It is so beautiful and so meaningful. I love that you have unpacked the story behind it. Thanks for sharing it with us, and a bit more about your own story, too. :-) Blessings!

The Mathews Family said...

LOVE it!

Angela said...

I love her name!

Shelly G. said...

Speachless.....

Shelly G. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shelly G. said...

Well....not really, but in the sense that all I can do after reading this is to Selah!

Kelly said...

Beautiful name...I love the meaning!

Claresta Lee said...

Thats awesome. I'm going to change my prayers for Baby Girl McKinnry to Selah McKinney. ;)

Angela said...

I LOVE it! Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful name! Congratulations on yet another milestone!

Paxton's Mama said...

I am so excited about Baby Selah! I agree with you, having the name associated with her coming home makes everything so real. I can't wait to pinch her little cheeks and give her boat loads of hugs and kisses.

Kelli said...

Love it.

My best friend little girl is Selah... always loved that name- and the meaning.

SAY-LAH is also how they pronounce it.

Meliski said...

Giiirl! You know how much I love this name. But I appreciate you taking the time to really put into words the true meaning. What a blessing Selah will be to The Kingdom and to you. And what a blessing you, your husband and the boys will be to her.

Mark and Wendy said...

Beautiful, Michelle! I love it! And she will, too...

Engendo said...

Selah is such a beautiful name. A beautiful girl to give pause to those around her and point up to the Lord. beautiful!

Debb said...

Such a gorgeous name, Selah! The meaning of it and your story behind it only adds to its beauty. Your precious daughter will wear her name well, I am most sure of it! Thanks for sharing! How exciting!

Freedom Hollow Farmgirl said...

What a beautiful name! I cannot wait to see the beautiful face that belongs to that name.

My husand and I just started our adoption journey and are awaiting acceptance into the Ethiopia program with American World.

I look forward to following your journey and praying your daughter home.

Blessings to you

Suzanne
freedomhollowfarmkiddos.blogspot.com

The B Family said...

LOVE the name Selah! Praying for your sweet girl in her journey to you. Can hardly wait to her precous face.

Michelle said...

Wow! You all have really blown me away with all the love about Selah's name! I sooooooo greatly appreciate it!

Unknown said...

I absolutely love her name! Thanx for sharing and for sharing more of your story. (I have been quietly following your blog for a couple of weeks)

Michelle said...

Thanks Erik for joining us on our journey! I haven't been able to read all of your blog just yet but I'm excited that you guys are on this journey too!

Unknown said...

The name is perfect -- I love it. The meaning is so rich!
Kelly
(from www.wearegraftedin.com)

Eve said...

Hi Michelle,
I think Selah is a lovely name. What a beautiful sound to it, and meaning as well.

Have an awesome weekend

Michelle said...

Thanks Eve!

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