Why Your Middle Name is Really Grace
She is slumped on the couch all grumpy and mad, her lips pursed in a dramatic pout.
“Why didn’t you name ME Elizabeth Grace?” my little girl asks as she punctuates her big sister’s name with a hiss of frustration.
I set down the laundry basket I’m lugging through the living room and turn my head toward my four-year-old complainer.
“What?”
“I sa-a-a-a-id, why didn’t I get Lizzy’s name?”
Her blue eyes churn indignant like a thundercloud on a hot summer’s day, and this girl of mine who is never satisfied with the name I chose crosses her pale arms in front of her chest in a theatric harrumph.
I bite my lip in restraint, try not to laugh at the female fanfare spilling from my strong-willed last born, and I shuffle to the couch where my daughter sits sulking.
I push back those straggly blonde bangs hanging haphazard across her forehead, and slump lower on the cushions so we can perch head to head.
“I didn’t name you Elizabeth Grace,” I murmur in her ear, “Because when you were tucked in my tummy, God gave me the name Magdalene Hope.”
I let my words dangle in the air, the sound of Maggie’s sniffled breathing ticking off the silent seconds. I take my little one’s hand and gently rub my thumb across her palm. “And once God whispered that name to my heart, I knew that’s exactly who you were going to be. Our one and only Maggie Hope.“
My dramatic girl raises an eyebrow and sighs, her vexation melting into sadness.
“But I just want Grace in my middle, Mom. Right between Maggie Moo and Bwuxfort…” She slaughters our fine Dutch surname, adds that silly pet name to the mix, but her gaze is so earnest that I’m not even tempted to giggle.
Instead I pull my fifth-born onto my lap and rock her ever so slightly on my knees. And as I rest my chin on her tangle-haired-head, I understand her wish.
Grace in the middle. Who doesn’t need that?
No matter where life on this earth begins or how quickly it ends, we all need a little grace in the middle.
Beginning with purpose? That’s how we were made.
Ending in joy? Our Savior promises that.
But making it through middle? That’s a different story.
The middle is where hours creep long and the view wanes dim. It’s where the starting block feels like a distant memory and the finish line looms like an impossible dream.
The middle can douse our dreams, derail our zeal, and diminish our faith.
It can make us desperate. For mercy. For hope. For grace.
When the baby’s teething and the toddler’s tantrum-ing, we need grace in the middle.
When the dishes pile high and the laundry’s run wild, we need grace in the middle.
When our souls are empty and our calendars are filled, when our dinner tables are noisy and our accolades are quiet, we need grace in the middle.
When the bread’s burning and our patience has gone up in smoke, when our best isn’t good enough and our worst is magnified, we need grace in the middle.
When our marriage is faltering, when a friend has betrayed, when we want to stay in bed instead of face another day…Grace in the middle.
When our teenager has missed curfew, when the cancer continues to grow, when our bank account is a drizzle and our tears a steady stream, we need grace in the middle.
When a cloud has covered the moon and the sun has yet to rise…
Right in the middle of that darkness, right in the middle of that mess, we need grace.
Grace to take one more step, to utter one more prayer, to risk rejection one more time.
Grace to trust in His promises and to cling to His hand.
We linger long there on the couch, me and my girl who wants a new name.
We just rock and cuddle and listen to the patter of rain on the window, the hum of the washing machine a floor below.
And instead of offering my mopey Maggie a lecture on the grandeur of her given name, instead of ignoring that pout party in the living room, I simply hold her. Hold her with compassion, right in that middle place of wishing for something different and trying to accept what really is.
And this mom living somewhere between my beginning and my end reminds her little girl of one simple truth (Because sometimes we just need to say it aloud for our own road-weary souls)–
There is only one name worthy of our wishing, one name deserving of our dreams.
And when we keep that name in the middle of our madness, He offers hope in our beginning, glory in our end, and grace for every moment in-between.
Jesus.
*linking with Jen at Rich Faith Rising,Jennifer for Tell His Story, Beth for Wedded Wednesdays and Jen for soli deo gloria
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Ha! I love your daughter’s response! My middle name IS Grace. Growing up, I didn’t like it and regularly complained. (I was named after a Great Aunt). Today, I’m thrilled to have the constant reminder that God chose me out of his grace – not because of any skill, talent, gifts, or loveliness present within me. He chose me because he loved me. That’s true grace. Praying I might show that same lavish love to others (like my own children!) Blessings! Found you through Jen’s Unite link up! ~Melissa
The middle is so very hard. You are so right, his grace is enough.
Grace in the middle, our in between! Beauty in the image, beauty in the truth of these words and beauty in knowing that Jesus extends His grace to us daily. Thank you for this post and all it taught me today. Visiting you from Wedded Wednesday!
Blessings!
Mary
Glad you stopped by, Mary!
Oh.my.goodness, Alicia, this is so very wonderful! I really needed this today. You see, I’ve “begun” this cancer journey with God’s presence ever near and a joy that is “other-worldly” but just today my date for surgery was scheduled. That small factor has me feeling like I’m very quickly moving from the beginning to the “messy middle.” So grace is exactly what I need in my “middle.” One more thing, this read like a perfect Children’s book to me. Have you thought of turning it into one? If not, I’m telling you this book would bless not only the little reader but the mother who reads it to her “little one'” as well!
Oh, Beth, you are truly stepping into a middle ground unlike any other, aren’t you? And I am praying for you each day- asking God to carry you through the middle and show Himself glorious each step of the way! Love to you, friend.
Oh, Beth you ARE walking through a murky middle right now. And I’m praying that God will carry you each step of the way and lavish your hours with grace. Love to you, dear friend.
I’m guessing your little girl is full of fun; this was so cute. 🙂 And I love, love your point:
“Grace in the middle. Who doesn’t need that? No matter where life on this earth begins or how quickly it ends, we all need a little grace in the middle.”
Yes! We all do need grace in the middle. This will stick with me. Thanks, Alicia!
Maggie definitely has spunk! Everyone told me when I was pregnant with number five that God would give me a laid-back, roll-with-life kind of kid… after all, you’d think that the fifth-born would have to be pretty easy going to go along with the crazy-ness of a family of seven. BUT, He gave me a strong-willed, intense, know-what-I-want-and-want-it-now kind of girl! And I love the passion she brings to our home 🙂
Such a sweet story. And if I am dependent on anything every day, it is grace. Good words to start my day.
This is beautiful,. So many of the ‘when…’ lines jump out at me. What a gift to your daughter to sit and hold her, right there in the middle of it all.,
Grace to you this Wednesday.
Grace in the middle – oh, how we need it. Great illustration to help me remember…and be thankful for that amazing grace.