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What's in a name?
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AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
I have lived with what has been deemed an interesting, unique, hard to spell and even harder to pronounce name for for just about twenty-seven years. Growing up with a name like mine made the first day of school and meeting new people pretty interesting. I almost made a game out of keeping track of the wacky pronunciations I would hear from the lips of teachers, nurses, pastors, etc. When new semesters began in my college days, my friends couldn't wait for me to report the new variations on my name, which would stick for the rest of the year. I quickly learned that correcting people made no difference, as they were going to call me what they were going to call me.
Through the years, despite the annoyances of mispronunciations, I have come to love my name and thank my parents for giving it to me. I also answer to a number of other names, given to me by friends and family members, as I'm sure you all do. When asked what I like to be called, I always smile and ask to simply be called Ondria, because that's my name...no nicknames, no shortening it...just Ondria.
Aside from my name, like most of you, I have been labeled many times over. Some labels are harmless, some are cutting...but no matter what I get stamped with, the only label that matters is that I am a child of God, and He knows my name. I am loved by the Father, salt and light in the world, a friend of Jesus, a servant, a disciple, and I am chosen by God and called by name. The derogatory names, though no one has the right to call us by them, do not matter in this life. We are so wrapped up in an earthly shell, and yet God loves us and continually covers us with that love. He is constantly reminding me that I shouldn't be concerned with being called anything but His own. If I had to walk around wearing a name tag for the rest of my life, and all it said was 'Child of God,' that would be more than enough to sum me up, because that's who I am.
'What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.' 1 John 3:1 (The Message)
Friends, we were fearfully and wonderfully made...made with a purpose in mind, in God's own image. If you struggle with trying to figure yourself out, try asking God this question: 'Lord, who do You say that I am?' You see, we can't figure out who we are all by ourselves and God will never stop changing our hearts. You're not alone in trying to figure out who you are- I'm learning new things about who I am every day in my faith walk, and pray that it continues for the rest of my days. As long as I know who I am in Christ, nothing else matters. Know and trust that you are not forgotten...God knows your name.
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