What Did You Call Me?

"A good name is more desirable

than great riches;

to be esteemed is better than silver

or gold"

~Proverbs 22:1

"The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." ~John 10:2-3

"She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." ~Matthew 1:21 [Jesus means "the LORD saves"]

I had an interesting experience this week. I was having a conversation with a young man that I know. This young man is generally very pleasant and we have had some great conversations. However, there is something that bothers me every time he says it ~ when referring to his girlfriend, he ALWAYS calls her his "old lady." When he did it again during a conversation, I waited until he had finished what he was saying and said, "I'm not trying to be rude, but I want to ask you something. You always refer to your girlfriend as your 'old lady.' I don't even know her name because you've never said it in any conversation I've ever had with you. When you call her that, does that invoke warm, loving feelings toward her? When you call her that, does your mind and heart warm toward her and some pleasant pictures flip through your mind? Does it make you feel loving toward her in ANY way?"

He said he had never thought about it. I replied that that was sad, all in itself. 

We, then, had a good conversation about how what you call someone, or say about someone, you are SUPPOSED to care about MEANS SOMETHING. 

I love to call my husband THE Man when I refer to him, because in my life, he IS THE Man; the love of my life. There was another young woman in this conversation who is trying to decide whether or not to break up with her boyfriend because she just isn't getting anything out of the relationship anymore. When I told them that we will soon celebrate 30 years of marriage in a few weeks, they started asking questions about what it takes to make a successful marriage work.

I began by saying that a relationship with the Lord is the anchor and life's blood of our marriage. Then, love and respect which go hand-in-hand ~ and oddly enough ~ they don't always happen at the same time, THAT'S why the next thing is that HARD WORK is very important in your marriage. The "work" of the relationship doesn't end once you've married (or in some cases in this culture, you move in with each other) ~ that's only when it BEGINS in earnest. 

Something I told them that has been very important to us is touch. I can hardly walk by THE Man or our daughters without simply reaching out to touch their arm, stroke their hair . . . touch is your love made tangible. Whether you are expressing your love verbally or by touch ~ DO IT.

Another thing, which is what made the "old lady" thing grate on me, is that how you refer to your loved ones MEANS something. I told this young man that if THE Man called me "old lady" that I would be deeply offended, it would break my heart. To me, there is NOTHING loving or respectful about that name. You don't have to call your loved one "SweetieBabyHoneyPie," but little lovie names DO connect to our heartstrings. How you refer to someone shows in the tone of your voice and your body language. 

How much time did you spend on picking our your children's names? Do you know that God has His own special name for us?! 

". . . I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on on it, 

known only to him who receives it."

~Rev. 2:17(b)

This new name that the Lord has for us ~ His children, once we are with Him in Heaven ~ is SO extraordinarily special that only He and you will know what it is. God has taken time to pick out a special name JUST for His children. Doesn't that sound like a name means something? I'll bet that the mention of that name endears us greatly to His heart. 

Names mean something. They are connected to our heartstrings.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><