significance of a name. . .

Jonah,

Your name rose from the depths of our spirits during the months preceding your conception. It met us with such conviction that the grip of other names [those we harbored for years] loosened within us. The moment we discovered your life unfolding in the secret place [prior to the confirmation of your gender], we breathed the name over you and power seemed to settle in the atmosphere. We were unaware of the magnitude of its significance but were assured that your life and name had been ordained for this moment in history.

Our journey to you has been quite revelatory. Your essence has been used by the Divine to stir and awaken us in profound and unexpected ways. We have been lifted from the ashes of carnal longing and liberated from the chains of rationalization that bound us to the sins of yesterday. The novelty of your life has sensitized our souls and intensified our craving for more of God. . . his whisper, warmth and touch [for all that is pure and true and holy]. The shroud of his affection has fallen on our home. We have become deeply assured of his dwelling and pleasure in this place.

As these words spill from our souls, a spirit of revival becomes evident in your name, Jonah. Just as the prophet of old was sent as a sign to his generation and graced to awaken humanity to the authenticity and heart cry of the Creator [our Most High God], so it seems the essence of you commands [even from the womb] a resurgence of light, vitality of soul and fortitude of spirit.

The personality and power of the Divine is illuminated through the journey of the biblical Jonah. We see two-fold [through Jonah’s deliverance amid his flight from the word and command of the Lord and the ultimate salvation of the Ninevites] God’s responsiveness to human attitude and action [Jeremiah 18: 7-10]. He often surfaces in veiled form- through mandates that exceed our carnal strength and ability, through swallowing judgment or the turbulent winds of change. He is relentless in his quest to rescue humanity from carnal folly! He spares the repentant. . .

Just as God used the prophet Jonah to prove that his mercy extends beyond the bounds of Israel, so you are called to carry the truth of his nature to individuals outside your paradigm. We pray that you will spread the essence of God’s heart to those marginalized by society, standing in the peripheral of orthodoxy.

Jonah, you may inwardly wrestle the nature of God and experience great reluctance in the Spirit. You may respond to God’s call with expressions of inadequacy and diffidence, oh, but may you ultimately yield to the way of the Almighty, settle into his arms of mercy and allow the word of the Lord to flow freely from your life.

Jonah Elliot, you are the breath of our covenant . . . our long-awaited promise. We revel in the mystery and beauty of your life and expectantly await the bloom of Divine intent over you. Our hearts are forever bound to yours with the most ardent devotion under heaven. We love you, son!

Mom and Dad