A name pronounced is the recognition of the individual to whom it belongs. He who can pronounce my name aright, he can call me, and is entitled to my love and service.    – Henry David Thoreau

Last week at church we read Psalm 30 that includes the well-known 6^th verse: “Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning.” What a glorious line! After the service one of my friends said to me, “Aren’t you glad you were named Joy?”

Yes, I am happy that my parents named me Joy. Before my birth, when my family lived on our farm near Clatonia, Nebraska, they were blessed to have one daughter, my sister Shirley. However, they knew that my mother’s health would not allow her to have many children, and they needed a son to help them with the heavy farm work. They hoped that the baby she was carrying would be a boy, and they planned to name him David Charles – a lovely name for a boy. But when I was born, they realized they had not yet chosen a name for me, the unexpected baby girl. At the last minute, they said, “Let’s call her Joy. She will be a joy for us!” I’ve often wondered if my parents naming me “Joy” influenced the way I view life, the way I look at the world. With an expectation of being a joy for my parents, perhaps I unconsciously felt the need to lead a life filled with joy.

For centuries the value and the power of a name has been observed and celebrated in religious ceremonies, prose, and poetry. After all, we recognize ourselves by our names. When someone says our name even in a crowded room, our brain responds to it. Ever since we were born our names have been linked with attributes, the things people have said to us in adoration, respect, love, judgment, anger, criticism.

As a result, there are many emotions that may be related to the sound of our names – some are uplifting, some upsetting. When we hear our name spoken out loud, we may feel the emotions that are encompassed within this powerful symbol. Do we feel confident, positive, and proud, or do we feel a sense of insecurity, unworthiness, even shame?

Perhaps a name can influence our character. Therefore, it’s important to take good care of how we use people’s names. We value and treasure the sound of our name being spoken with love, respect, admiration. And we feel the pain when we hear our name being used in a critical, belittling, or blaming way. Perhaps even sadder is when no one calls our name, and we begin to feel invisible – that there is no “me” – that’s what abandonment must feel like.

If we are lucky, we may have positive people around us who praise us and build us up. But even if we don’t, we can learn to talk to ourselves in encouraging ways. We can be loving fathers or mothers to ourselves and tell ourselves how much we are loved every day. “You did a good job. Well done. You are a child of God, and God loves you deeply.” Let’s always treat our name and other peoples’ names as sacred, because that’s what they are.

Beloved Creator, thank you for loving us, for being our caring father/mother. May we remember that indeed we are your much-loved children, that you call us by our name. Help us learn that life is sacred and that we must treat our names and others’ as blessed. Amen.

Joy Carol
www.joycarol.com