Choosing a name for your child is so exciting and a huge responsibility. There are so many things to consider: family traditions and names that are expected to be passed on, name meanings, how the first and middle name will sound with the last name, will their initials spell something obscene. It’s a big deal.
Being the medical professionals that we are, Read and I decided to narrow the list of names we liked using a scientific method. One night I was lying in bed with the baby doing his usual nightly acrobatics; I turned to Read and told him I felt kind of funny referring to our little bundle of joy as “the baby” or “this kid.” (As a side note, the baby did have other nicknames. Among them were “Little Mr. Wall” and my dad’s nickname for him “Little Richard Dallas”—in honor of the baby’s two grandfathers.)
Read and I had agreed that we would give him the middle name “Read” and had picked out five or six first names that we liked that went well with Read. My husband, being the doctor and man of science that he is, pulled out the list and suggested we let the baby choose his name. Read said he would read names from the list and if the baby responded, we would consider that name. I giggled and agreed. To our surprise, our bundle of joy responded heartily to one of the names, only mildly to another, and ignored the rest. We put the list away, agreed we would consider the name he reacted to, and decided to take the list to the hospital and choose a name when we met him.
Our plans to wait to give Baby Wall a definite name changed quickly last week for several reasons. First, I found myself referring to the little guy in my head by the name he had reacted to more than I realized and it had almost slipped out in public several times. Second, my grandmother who had helped pray this baby into existence and had upheld him daily since we told her he was coming, started failing fast. Grandmother wanted so bad to meet our miracle baby and hang on until October, but her body wasn’t up to it. Read and I agreed that settling on a baby name and getting to tell Grandmother would be extra special.
On Tuesday afternoon, I sat by Grandmother’s bed, holding her hand tightly, and told her Read and I had good news; we wanted her to be the first one to hear it. She turned her focus to me as if I were the only person in her world just at that moment and told me she could use some good news. I told her we had officially named our baby, and we wanted her to be the first one to know. “Grandmother,” I said, “his name is ‘Austin Read’.” She smiled and repeated the name a couple of times; then in her encouraging and wonderful way, she told me what a perfect name it was for our baby and that she really needed to know that.
That was the last real conversation I got to have with Grandmother. We spent a great evening with her; family members took turns in and out of her room visiting with her, and when she got too tired to talk, we crowded into her bedroom and had a good old-fashioned hymn sing, and Grandmother sang, too. She went to be with Jesus early the next morning.
The name Austin means “great” or “magnificent.” In picking out a name, we wanted to give our baby a meaning that he could live up to. When I consider the incredible spiritual legacy that Read and I have to pass on to our children from our parents and grandparents, I am overwhelmed by all that we have been given and have to give. Because of Grandmother’s recent home-going, her faithfulness in praying for her entire family is especially fresh in my mind. I find that I took for granted that I could call her anytime or drop in at her house, plop down in a chair in the living room, and tell her anything; and I knew she was listening intently as if I were the only person in the world at that moment and she would pray for me. Oh, yes, and sometimes she would have a gentle word of advice that would help bring me back to earth and reign in my frustrations or emotions. That is the kind of attentiveness, thoughtfulness, and prayer support I want to be able to give and share with my children.
Our goal as parents is to pass that spiritual legacy on to our children. Our parents and grandparents have prayed for us faithfully, they have held to a standard that honored the Lord, and they have loved us through thick and thin. Our desire is to raise a great man of faith and to continue that legacy for generations to come, should the Lord tarry.
Naming our child did not work out exactly the way we planned. God used our “scientific method” and best-laid plans and worked His own plans for His glory. We are beyond excited to have settled on a name, and we so look forward to meeting our precious Austin Read.