What's in a Name?

Shakespeare isn't my favorite; I don't know who is when it comes to sonnets or plays. But I still don't think it's Shakespeare. Yet for some reason, when I think about the idea of names, his lovely quote pops into my head: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose..." and then I forget the rest. But for those of you who wanted to know, Juliet continues "by any other name would smell as sweet."

While I was in Ghana, I quickly realized that there was one simple question for which I needed an improved answer. The typical conversation went like this:

Friendly Ghanaian: What is your name?

Kayla: Kayla.

Friendly Ghanaian: What does that mean?

Kayla: I don't know.

Friendly Ghanaian: *blank stare of confusion* How do you not know the meaning of your name?

You see, in Ghana, the meaning of your name is critical. It's meant to reflect your family's hope for your character or your future. It's supposed to have a deep, beautiful meaning.

My name doesn't exactly have a deep, beautiful meaning. It just has a ridiculous story. My mother, like her mother and her grandmother, is addicted to the soap opera Days of Our Lives. (Don't judge them, or me, it's a family bonding thing.) There is one character named Kayla Brady who later marries a man named Steve Johnson. She is one of the few lovely sweetheart characters on a soap. And my mom loved her and her name enough to pass it on to me. Until Ghana, I was unsure what my name meant. 

I finally Googled the meaning of my name so that I would have fewer awkward conversations. Apparently the name "Kayla" has numerous meanings depending on which origin you believe. Some meanings include:

• Pure
• Beloved
• Who is like God?

Interesting, right? My immediate reaction to that knowledge was "That's not right. That's not me." In that moment, I realized that I cling to the memories of things that have tainted me and ways that I have been despised. It's easier to embrace the labels of "dirty sinner" and "despised one" instead of "pure" and "beloved". Why is that?

Those thoughts have been floating around in my mind (in all of that empty space) since last fall. I don't dwell on them often, but the reminder occasionally rings and I acknowledge my true identity. 

Earlier this week, I was reading Rick Lawrence's book Sifted. 

The whole book revolves around that one sentence Jesus spoke recorded in Luke 22. Early on, Lawrence writes

Is it possible that we all have two names--the one our parents gave us, and the one that God calls us when He's plotting His next adventure? Is it possible that He uses our formal name, as He did with Peter, to get our attention--to speak to our history, to prepare us for the sifting that will separate us from the husk of our identity? Is it possible He wouldn't mind if we asked Him who we really are, just so we know what will be left over after the sifting? Because sifting will reveal us--the me that's been broken and broken and broken until it almost can't be found, and the me we have been since our good Father formed us in the womb. The "true name" He has chosen for each of us perfectly represents the revealed me that emerges through our sifting. - 59-60

I think Lawrence's question is a great one. But I also think that God is sifting me to reveal that I really am pure and I really am beloved. I believe God is sifting me to show me and those around me that no one is like God. 

For my fellow non-farmers, sifting is a tedious process. Sifting flour is simpler than wheat, but it's the one that my mind better understands.

To sift, you separate out the coarse parts. Only the refined continues on. Being separated and refined is painful, but it's worth it. Like Lawrence said, "sifting will reveal us--the me that's been broken and broken and broken until it almost can't be found, and the me we have been since our good Father formed us in the womb. The 'true name' He has chosen for each of us perfectly represents the revealed me that emerges through our sifting."

And I am learning to accept that at least part of my true name is "Kayla": pure and beloved. Jesus made me pure and calls me his beloved. What a beautiful gift. What a beautiful identity that needs to be embraced.

Who are you? What does your given name mean? What name does the LORD want to reveal to you as you're sifted?