The Lion is Enough

One of the paradoxes of life is understanding that there is so much we can't control, while being diligent with that which we can control. For example, we don't have much in terms of final control over the future, but we have been given the responsibility to obey God with what little we know about what's to come. So when Saharh and I decided to wait until our baby was born to give him a name, little did we realize that the first name was already settled in God's eyes. Early in the pregnancy, we bounced around several first names and found many of them just didn't seem to fit. As the months have gone by, we've submitted several names and asked the Spirit to show us which one fits.

Well shortly before Thanksgiving, we went from being uncertain about a first name to finding ourselves being unable to think of any other name for our son than one of the earliest names we considered. Saharh and I spoke about it several times and found ourselves released to not only finalize the first name, but also to share it with everyone else. We told most of our family at Thanksgiving that his first name will be Ethan.

Ethan was a difficult name for me at first, because I associated that name with a character from Lost that I didn't appreciate very much. Those of you who've seen Lost know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't will find it easier to enjoy the name, so kudos to you! Saharh, however has liked that name for a very long time. As we studied the history of the name, I was very surprised to find that the writer of Psalm 89 was named Ethan. The psalm is fairly wordy, like me, so I began to appreciate the name a bit more at that time. The name also means 'firm and steadfast'...or stubborn, which is very Burke-like as well. (Saharh can be stubborn too, but you didn't hear that from me.) Those who wanted to rescue me from the fictional character that gave me a bad taste for the name, promptly reminded me that the lead character in Mission Impossible was named Ethan. I've always wanted to be a super-spy so now we have a trifecta and that's a can't miss. Any way, the name fits very well and we've enjoyed being able to call the baby something other than, 'Hey you'.

As we've gone through the pregnancy, we've watched a few couples go through pre-term deliveries. One couple that we know had their child after 26 weeks! Another had theirs after seven months. We understand this is very common, but it's a miracle nonetheless to watch God protect something so small as it grows to nine months. If there's anything we've tried to focus on, it is that Jesus is enough. There are lots of things that we can do physically, but Jesus controls the final outcome. As it is said in Proverbs, the soldiers prepare for battle, but the battle belongs to the Lord. So as we accept what we can't control, and learn diligence with what we can, we have found peace in knowing that the Lion is enough.