Appointed and Chosen

It drives a few of my friends cuckoo that we keep our baby names a secret until the kids arrive (ahem, Rachel). :-)  We have several reasons for doing this way, and I have no regrets, but I wanted to share how we chose Seth's name.

We had a much harder time with a name this time around, and it was starting to make me nervous and frustrated.  If you know my husband, you know that he isn't a person to share thoughts or feelings - about anything - on the spot.  He needs time to process and think about things before sharing a response.  So, how do we choose a baby name?

I email him.

Yes, it's true.  I create a list of names I like and send them to Jim to mull over.  Isn't that crazy?  It doesn't bother me, and I guess that's what you get when you've been married for nearly twelve years.  You learn what does and doesn't work for your relationship.  Spur-of-the-moment baby-naming conversations just don't work for us.  I ask, "What do you think of this name?" and all I get is "I don't know." But if Jim has time to process and think about things, he can decide what he likes and what he hates.

I had originally wanted to name Seth something that started with the letter D so that my kids would be named in alphabetical order.  (Jim hated that idea, by the way.)  I really liked the name Dalton and we considered it, but when I looked up the meaning and found out it meant "town in the valley," I felt like it was lacking somehow.  A few other names that I liked had decent meanings, and one of my favorites was Kellan: "Descendant of the Brightheaded One."  It seemed perfect because Jim is so intelligent and also because my grandfather at one time had red hair.  However, when I looked up the name Seth, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Seth means "appointed" or "chosen."

We knew after we had Cora that we wanted to have a third child.  We also knew that we should wait until 2012 before we started trying for number three.  Financially and practically, waiting was the best decision.  So when we found out I was pregnant last fall, we were shocked.  Quite truthfully, I freaked out.  This wasn't what we had decided!  This was officially the least calculated thing Jim or I had ever done.

So when I saw that the name Seth - which I already liked - meant "appointed" or "chosen," I started to weep.  God had chosen this baby for our family.  He had chosen the timing.   He had appointed Seth to do great things, hopefully for His Kingdom!  God was in control.

After I started mentally calling Seth by name, I realized that Seth was also the third child named in the Bible.  Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel, and then they have Seth.  Just a cool fact.

Seth's middle name is Bryant, and that isn't quite as momentous.  I liked the name when I saw it on my friend Erin's wedding invitation last year.  (It is her husband John's middle name.)  I liked the way it flowed with Seth's first name, and when I looked up the meaning and found that it meant "strong and honorable," that sealed the deal.

Seth's name was very carefully chosen for our sweet boy, and considering how much I prayed about it, I really believe that God gave us his name.  I deeply pray that his name will be a perfect description of the man he will become.  I pray that God has appointed him to do great work for His kingdom and that he will be strong and honorable.  I believe that he will.