what's in a name

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned (called) you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1
I love this verse. the part about being redeemed and the part about being called by name and the part about being His.
I continue to be flabbergasted by the fact that we have the privilege and power to name someone. That's just crazy to me. Adam and I decided on a girl's name way before we even knew we were having a girl. We also decided to keep the name secret, which turned out to be fun b/c that's all people really wanted to know. There is something about our names. They become our identity. Well, here is how we chose Charis Root.

Charis is grace in Greek. We both love the concept of grace and the fact that we have been redeemed by God's grace. Other definitions of the word charis is "that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness." And I hope all those words will be words that our little girl will be identified by throughout her life.
Root. Well, I could just say that Adam and I are hippies at heart. Maybe a little true. But, it started because we liked the idea of using a concept from scripture for a middle name. Root comes from a passage in Ephesians 3 (v.17) that says "being rooted and established in love." Another part of the meaning of Root comes from Adam's love of trees and the image of trees throughout scripture. The root system of a tree is it's foundation; it's what nourishes the tree and keeps it grounded. Root is a reminder to us that we are rooted in Christ's love.
We do hope she likes her name, but we also realize that her name is a reminder to us. Each time we look at her and hold her we are reminded of God's redeeming love in our own lives.