Vernon and I started thinking about names for a baby boy and a baby girl as soon as we started trying to have children. We have literally had names picked out for YEARS! We chose Andrew after Vernon's paternal grandfather. We chose Ian just because we both really liked it. We have been very happy with our decision for a very long time, but the name became truly special to us last year.
When I posted about our miracle day, I mentioned that a man had spoken a word to us that we would have a child. We chose to believe this word and the Lord confirmed that in our hearts even deeper and stronger later that night.
I'm a dreamer. Always have been for as long as I can remember. I have incredibly vivid dreams almost every night. I've had dreams come true before. I've had dreams that have prompted me to action. I've had dreams that have prompted me to prayer. There are a lot of different view points on dreams, christian and secular, but for me, with my dreams, I've always chosen to hold on to verses from scripture about the Lord speaking to people in dreams. I have personally chosen to believe that the Lord does still choose to deliver messages to us through our dreams. That's not to say that all my dreams are that way, because they just aren't. Some dreams never make sense, even after prayer. Some dreams are just my mind going through the events of the day and offer no further conclusions or meaning. A lot of dreams, probably most of my dreams, are easily forgotten. The dreams that I do remember though, I usually remember for years. This is one of those dreams . . . a dream I will never, ever forget . . . a dream I believe was confirmation from the Lord to sustain me as we believed there would be a child in our future.
The man who spoke the word to us told us to write the baby's name down and dedicate the baby to the Lord before the baby was ever conceived. Since we chose to believe him, and we already had names picked out, we started praying for the right name to dedicate to the Lord. I went to bed that night desperate to know. Both names were going back in forth in my mind. I would get a little bit of sleep here and there, but I would always wake up with those names running through my mind, asking the Lord which one to dedicate.
One of the times I woke up, I knew I was supposed to remember the name "John". I don't remember what led me to that, but I said it over and over in my mind so I wouldn't forget, "John, John, John." As I went back to sleep, I asked the Lord, "Who is John? That's not a name we have chosen." As soon as I went to sleep, I had a dream where I was holding and snuggling the most beautiful baby boy ever. I've seen this beautiful baby boy in one other dream since then. What precious sleep those nights have been!
When I woke up the next morning, I told Vernon that I thought we were going to have a boy, but that I was confused because I knew I was supposed to remember the name "John". I went to the computer to look up the meanings of the names we had chosen and I learned that Ian is another name for John and it means "God is gracious." Yes, He is!!! I got chills. I also learned that Andrew means "Strong, manly, and mighty warrior." What appropriate and special names for our sweet boy! What a strong warrior our son already is and we believe that God will indeed continue to make him into a strong and mighty warrior for the Lord and His purposes because of His grace and love.
I love that the Lord called him "John" in my dream so that I would know it was from Him and not my own mind making a decision about who I wanted our child to be. I love that I've had a vision of my sweet boy for so long to hold on to. I love the Lord for blessing me in such a special way. I always believed that dream was from the Lord, but seeing my son in ultrasound pictures and hearing his strong heart beat, it just places me in such awe again as I thank the Lord for the amazing gift of this child.
People have asked me all throughout my pregnancy if I had any idea about what we were having. In the beginning, I was 100% convinced we were having Ian because of my dream, but somewhere along the way, I started having a lot of dreams about a baby girl. In fact, after the first one, I remembered that my actual first dream about this baby girl was about 6 weeks before I got pregnant. I think I had a total of 5 dreams about this baby girl before learning that we were having a boy. Needless to say, at some point, I began to wonder about who was in there. What a total blessing that was though! I was able to truly enjoy the beauty of pregnancy with all of the suspense and wonder. I was able to be truly surprised when we found out that we are having a boy and I will always hold that treasure in my heart. I'm human and I can misinterpret or misunderstand my dreams, but the Lord continues to use them to bless me, whether I get the right meaning or not. Isn't that true with all things in the Lord? He continues to love us and bless us, even when we get it wrong. Love that about Him! He is gracious indeed!
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