What's in a name?

We have been on a blogging hiatus. The only reason I can come up with is that my words fail to deliver the magnitude of emotion wrapped up in our sweet boy.

Many decisions about our adoption have not been easy to make. One of those decisions has been whether or not to rename our son. There are solid reasons supporting both renaming and keeping the given birth name. In our opinion, there is no right or wrong choice; however, the decision has not been easy. When you consider the sizable loss any adopted child suffers, it changes the name game.

A name is really just a label for this earthly shell we navigate for a very short while. There is value in a name, though, because it gives us some degree of self-worth in that our parents chose our name.

After many months of considering both options, we have decided to give our son a new first name and keep his given birth name as his middle name. His birth mother likely chose his name for a reason, and we want to honor her choice. We never want our son or the world to forget this precious gift of life his birth mother gave.

The meaning behind the name we will give him sums up our feelings toward God and toward our son. His name will be Jude. The meaning is "praise" and "thanks." I can think of no better response to this blessing on our lives. Praise and thanks fills our heart when we study his little face. Our cup overflows!

On October 25, 2011, we will stand in front of a judge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and plead our case to become Jude's forever family. Please pray with me that our case passes court this first time, and that we can have a speedy appointment soon thereafter with the US Embassy to bring him home!

Psalm 148. I love it. Go read it. Then, praise our Maker, the Creator and Sustainer for his very special creation in Jude Rust. That's what we're doing.