About Will's Name...

We struggled to pick a name for our little boy.  We had a good list of names we liked in general, but one never really stood out.  Mark had been praying for God to give him a dream (kind of like Joseph and others in the Bible) and to tell us what we should name our baby.  Months passed, and no dream.

Overall, we really wanted to pick a name that had special meaning.  We wanted to be able to use our baby's name as a sort of blessing or destiny to pray into over him.  My name, Liza, means "consecrated or dedicated to God", so over the years, my mom was continually praying that my life would be dedicated to the Lord.  

In the end, obviously, we chose the name William Daniel.  We never received special revelation from the Lord that that should be his name, but we prayed and trusted it was the right one. 

"William" was my grandpa's middle name, who was so special to me.  He was always a little stubborn and rough around the edges, but he was such a godly man.  Loyal to his family, such a hard worker, and always stood, with courage, for what was right and true.

"Daniel" is Mark's middle name.  Mark's parents gave him the name Daniel after a pastor, Dan, who led them to the Lord.  So, in both cases, "William" and "Daniel" are names that remember the spiritual heritage of our families.

To take this a step further, the name William means "helmet or protection", and Daniel means "exhorter of truth or justice".  We loved these meanings and began to pray that Will would protect and stand for truth in his life.  That he would courageously stand for the Lord and defend what is right.

Little did we know, Will would run into problems with his tiny head.  

I remember when my midwife told me, as I was pushing, that our little guy had a ton of hair.  I was convinced we'd have a blonde or bald baby, since Mark and I are natural blondies.  I was so excited, and had actually (and shallowly) prayed for a baby with dark hair.  Since that moment, Will's little head has always been my favorite part of him.  It's just so perfect.

But yes, on the inside of Will's head, there is bleeding, seizure activity, and not-so-good things happening.

And then it hit us like a ton of bricks a couple of nights ago.  We had named our baby William.  Helmet, protection.  Of all the things that Will needed right now, he needed a helmet to protect his little head.  When we visited Will in the NICU the day before last, he was even wearing a helmet of sorts, to hold on all the electrodes for his tests.  

We will continue to pray for Will to protect Truth, but even more, we are rejoicing, knowing that even before he was born, the Lord strapped on His Helmet of Salvation over Will's head.  I believe the Lord has written the word "Salvation" over his head, that He sings songs of salvation over him - hour after hour in that little NICU room.

The enemy had/has plans for Will's (and our family's) demise, but the enemy's arrows can't penetrate the Armor of God.  Will's helmet is too strong, too True, and too supernatural.  

For as much as we battle hopelessness, our hearts are ever encouraged, knowing the Lord's protection is already a banner over our Will.  

Sometimes, I ask the Lord for seemingly silly things.  In these last couple of days, I have been asking God to show me what Will's helmet looks like.  Because, friends, I am not talking about a metaphorical and symbolic sort of helmet, I am believing Willreally has a supernatural helmet on that I just haven't been able to see yet.  It might be silly, but I am hoping God shows me Will's helmet, just for fun, and just for encouragement.  

Right now, I imagine it is shiny - more brilliant than I have seen before, forged from strong supernatural materials, and has the word "salvation" written over the front.  At the top, there's a big, red, plume symbolizing the blood of Jesus covering his life.  On the back, there's an emblem symbolizing the Lord's Army.  And every, single firey dart that comes against it from the enemy harmlessly "pings" off the sides.  Praise the Lord!

Our Caring Bridge site is here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/deyounges