Asher Isaiah Graham

No pressure naming a kid, right?  I mean, they are only going to be called that name their ENTIRE lives.  There are meanings to consider, potential nicknames, whether the name will help or hinder the child making friends in middle school, etc. And we all know it's helpful if a teacher can read the name and pronounce it correctly. So not in any particular order of importance, here are some reasons we chose the name Asher Isaiah Graham.

Thus far in our immediate family we have Rebecca and Otha.  A fairly common name and a name that no one remembers how to pronounce unless they meet Otha five times.  I went through a phase where I would get offended for Otha if someone got his name wrong.  "It's Ortho, right?"  "NO, IT'S OTHA. O-T-H-A!" Of course I would not say that out loud in response, but God forgive me, I definitely thought it in my head.  I thankfully have matured a bit since that phase (so don't feel like I am judging you if you get his name wrong).  We therefore wanted a name that was unique, but not impossible to remember.  As we bounced name ideas off family and friends, we never received a confused response when mentioning "Asher".  That's a good sign in itself if people don't ask "what did you say?  how do you spell that? did you get that from a star wars character book?".  Also, our dear friends the Sandefurs spent some time praying and thinking of a name for our child and Asher was on their list.  I fully trust that they would not suggest a horrible name.  (Thank you Sandefurs!)

The meaning and history of a name held a lot of weight also in the decision making process.  Trust me, we found many great names that we agreed on (which in itself is a miracle), but the meanings were not quite fitting... like: "second born with red hair". Our son will definitely be the first born and probably won't have red hair.  So the search continued.  The more we considered Asher, the more I felt peace about the simple meaning of "happy/blessed".  Asher was the son of Jacob and Leah's maid Zilpah.  I love how Asher is not mentioned much in the Bible, yet God still used him in establishing the 12 tribes of Israel.  As much as I would love our Asher to live such a profound life that his name is known worldwide, that is absolutely not the goal in life.  Every time I hear about an individual tucked away that is dedicated to the Lord day in and day out without recognition, I am moved beyond words.  God longs for us to be faithful.  Period.  The nameless woman who sacrifices her every need to care for the outcasts in her village is just as beautiful of an example as Mother Theresa.  Therefore I am drawn to the simplicity of Asher's story.

Isaiah on the other hand gets some lime light in the history of Christianity.  To start things off, Isaiah means "God is salvation"... that's the gospel in a nutshell if I have ever heard one.  One of the aspects of Isaiah's story that deeply impacts me is Isaiah's unwavering obedience to the Lord.  I'm sure he had moments of "you want me to do what God?!?" but I don't get to read about those moments.  Isaiah 20:2-3 says:

 "Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, 'Take the rough cloth off your body, and take you sandals off your feet.' So Isaiah obeyed and walked around naked and barefoot.  The the Lord said, 'Isaiah my servant has walked around naked and barefoot for three years as a sign against Egypt and Cush." 

 THREE YEARS!  No big deal, just walking around naked and barefoot for three years because God told me to do so.  A continual pattern occurs where God tells Isaiah to do something and he does it.  Isaiah completely surrenders his life to God's purpose.  Ya know what else happens?  God reveals to Isaiah that Jesus is coming, a complete solution to our separation from God.  How incredible for Isaiah to have the vision of the entire Kingdom plan and be able to take hope fully trusting in what is to come!  Obedience, servanthood, and access to the bigger picture of God's hand in humanity.  Yes- I will name our son Isaiah.

And of course, ever present syllables.  Asher Isaiah Graham.  We like to balance things out a bit... don't want to confuse our future kindergarten student with 5 syllable first and middle names.  Let's also not forget the beginning letters of the name.  As much as it works for some people, I am just not willing to name our son something like: Gary Garret Graham.  Or even the endings of names... Sam Jam Graham.  There happens to be a common courtesy from parent to child with these gritty details of picking a name.

You're welcome Asher.

Picture of the ever-growing Asher is coming shortly.