More Than A Name

Welcome to the Overflow! Whether you’re an old friend or a new one, I’m glad you’re here.  This is a place where faith is spilled and souls are filled. I hope you’ll pull up a chair and stay awhile.

Today I’m over at Proverbs 31 talking about how Jesus has a name to meet our every need.  If you haven’t had a chance to read it, you can find it here. But before you go, I’d love to tell you a story about a little girl who insisted she was more than her name and a mommy who is learning the same lesson about her Savior…

When my youngest daughter stormed into the world nine years ago, we named her Magdalene Hope.

It was a name that we had prayed over, dreamed over, and declared over her precious life long before we’d gazed into her deep blue eyes.

But in those precarious preschool years, Maggie Hope changed her name as often as she changed her underwear (which was quite often, since my daughter’s goal was to wear ALL the princesses panties in her drawer in one day).

My littlest girl’s obsession with names kept life interesting, indeed.  When I  tucked our Maggie Hope into bed each night, I never knew who would wake beneath those soft pink covers in the morning.

Some mornings it was Emma Rose who pattered down the hallway with Maggie’s floral fleece blankie in hand. Emma Rose looked just like my baby girl with bed head, but I didn’t tell her that. Instead, I kissed her tousled hair and ushered her to the breakfast table where my school-agers were filling their tummies before the school bus arrived.

Lucky for us, Emma Rose liked to eat Lucky Charms without milk for breakfast like Maggie Hope often did. And when she’d eaten all the marshmallow moons out of the cereal bowl, Emma Rose offered to stand by the window and keep watch for the big yellow bus. (Which was a good thing since our normal “look-out-lady” had gone missing during the night).

Emma Rose fit right into our morning chaos. She sang silly songs and pressed her nose to the window and made “fog prints” with her breath on the pane as we hurried around the house gathering snow boots and lunch boxes, permission slips and library books. She only yelled at me once when I mistakenly called her Maggie as I raced by her window perch in search of a misplaced homework folder.

However, Emma Rose must have had other things to do that day, because as soon as our big kids hopped on the bus, Emma Rose disappeared and left Annelise in her place. Annelise reminded me a bit of my fifth-born, too. She wore a pink tutu with bright red sparkle shoes and kindly invited me to a tea party spread out on the coffee table in my honor. She served me lukewarm tap water from a pink plastic teapot and called me darling a time or two. But I must have been boring company for such an elegant girl, because when Annelise went to the bathroom, she never returned, and I was left to finish my tap-water-tea alone.

I didn’t have to be lonely for long, though, because Emily showed up next in a shimmering green leotard and a bright-pink-lipstick smile. Emily greeted me with a warm hug and announced that it was my lucky day! She told me she was performing a dance show, and I could be her royal guest.  She quickly built me a “throne” of pillows and insisted that I relax and enjoy the show from my regal seat. Her performance was a blend of Disney musical moves and original three-year-old grooves. Her dramatic spins and twirls reminded me of another dancer called Magdalene Hope, but Emily insisted that she’d never heard of a girl by that name.

Bethany and Maryann stopped by later. And Daffodil and Bluebell made an appearance around snack time. But before the day was done, Magdalene Hope returned donning her last pair of princess underwear and a battered old cowboy hat.

While we loved Magdalene Hope most, we didn’t complain about the princesses and rock stars who appeared in her absence. We simply welcomed them into our chaos and marveled at the precious and peculiar ways they resembled our littlest girl.

While we expected Maggie’s grand imagination to wane over time, we secretly hoped that our lively guests wouldn’t disappear completely. After all, each four-foot “visitor”  gave us an endearing glimpse into our youngest daughter’s vibrant personality.

However, a few months after Maggie began attending preschool, her dramatic antics gave way to a subtle sullenness.

I grew tired of her smiles being replaced by scowls, so finally I asked why she was so grumpy.

“I don’t want to go to preschool anymore,” my girl declared with a harrumph.

“Why not?” I questioned. “I thought you loved preschool.”

My daughter scrunched her brows and pursed her lips. “I do love school,” she conceded. “But I hate my name tag.”

Confused, I pictured the laminated name tag that the teacher draped around my daughter’s neck each morning with a warm hug.

My girl folded her arms across her chest and squeezed her eyes shut to hold in the tears threatening to zig zag down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong with your name tag?” I probed.

“It just never changes,” Maggie moaned.

“Yes it does,” I corrected. “Your name tags change with the theme each month. Remember?” I flashed Maggie a convincing smile and reminded her of all the name tags she’d worn so far. “In September you had a bright red apple name tag, and in October it was an orange pumpkin. Then came that little brown turkey and…”

“But Mo-om,” my girl whined, interrupting my list. “My name tag always has the same name on it!”

I stopped talking and swallowed a giggle. “Of course it does, Maggie. That’s your name.”

“I know, Mommy,” my preschooler replied with an exasperated sigh.  “But I’m more than just Maggie.”

My daughter’s words hung in the air between us, and I finally understood her grievance.

Magdalene Hope may be full of hope like her given name suggests, but she’s also full of spunk like Emma Rose. She’s full of bounce like Emily and bursting with beauty like Daffodil. She’s servant-hearted like Annelise and often kind like Maryann. 

Maggie is so much more than her name.

And I’ve learned that Jesus is, too.

When we read God’s word, we don’t find just one name for our mighty Savior, we find many.

Each name is an invitation to explore His heart more deeply; a summons to know His character more surely.

Each name is a window through which we can see Jesus more clearly.

And when we peer through the pane of God’s word, we discover that Jesus is so much more than just a Savior.

He’s our counselor and rescuer, our strength and our way.

He’s our light in the darkness, our peace and our stay.

He’s our Father and advocate, our warrior and friend.

He’s the fountain of life; the beginning and end.

Jesus is our heart’s cry and our soul’s longing.

So, let’s seek to know Him a little better every day.

Let’s call on His name and embrace His whole heart.

And no matter who we find Jesus to be, let’s remember He is always more.

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If you like what you’ve found here at the Overflow, I’d love to stay connected! I hope you’ll sign up on the side bar to receive a little trickle of inspiration in your in-box now and then.  Or, if you’d rather, we can stay connected on Facebook or Twitter. Of course, my favorite way to connect is the old fashioned way—face to face so I can see your smile.  I’m scheduling speaking engagements for the remainder of 2018 and 2019, and I’d be delighted to bring a message of encouragement to a ministry event near you! (Contact me at overflow@aliciabruxvoort.net if you’d like to know more).

And before you leave, I want to give you something….

Years ago, when I was studying the names of Jesus, I wrote a poem called “The One Who Lives Up To His Name.”  I’d love to share those scribbles as an encouragement to your heart. So feel free to print a copy of my poem here.

Also, if you have a minute, I’d love to know what name of Jesus you love most right now and why.

Have a wonderful week!