The meaning of names is a fascinating history. I found out the meaning of my birth name when I was about 9 or 10 and it thrilled me at the time that is meant something very personal to me – Amy Carol Duvall = Beloved Song of the Valley. From my earliest memories I had identified myself as a singer and so this was even more special to me.
Over the years I didn’t really think much about my name, I was just trying to survive life itself. Over those years I was given other names by the people I loved and cared about: fat, cow, lazy, clumsy, stupid, liar, vain, ugly, etc. The list was pretty long and none of it was very good. Words, and the thoughts they produce, are so powerful. Do we realize the power of our tongues and thoughts? It was very hard to live with those names, yet I had no way of rejecting them…they were true, right?
As I lived those names I always had a feeling of shame. I tried to hide them and not let anyone know. I tried to cover myself with coolness and ‘act’ like I was better than others by my love of fashion and my house being beautiful. I didn’t want to be called by those names, yet I didn’t know how to change them. I was too weak, a complete liar, vain and never finished anything hard (my mother told me that and she knew me better than anyone).
In 1990 I began a journey with God, and that journey began something that is truly remarkable. I began the process of earning a new name. I didn’t even know it, but as I began to attempt to live beyond my own abilities, and make frail attempts to live the words of Jesus in Matthew 5-7, I was earning a new name.
In 2007 I wrote my life story – as I looked for a title the meaning of my birth name came back to me. OMG! I had lived my name for all those years! I had walked through the valley as God’s beloved song. It hit me that maybe it would have been better to have been given a more fun name, but the realization was extremely profound at that time and it even became the inspiration for the title of my good-newsletter, Songs from the Valley (www.songsfromthevalley.com).
After this realization, I began to pursue and examine being God’s beloved. This is the amazing truth I found – we are ALL the beloved. It was so exciting to find so much evidence and documentation of how God loves us so much. It began to change me, this being loved so much by my creator! The truths of the value of each soul, and God’s real, unconditional love, has been shown to me over and over. It is mind-blowing and makes me a little giddy whenever I think about it.
Anyway…
Over the past four years God has done some amazing things in my life, and I have become aware that I am no longer in the valley, but I just realized that I have a new name. This is big! I am no longer the Beloved Song of the Valley – I am now the Beloved Song of Christ. Wow!!!! I stand amazed by grace.
We have all been given true names by God. It is who we really are. What’s your name? Beloved _________ of Christ! Ask and seek and you are guaranteed to find it. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matt 7:7
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