One of the most precious moments that is burned into my brain from our first day in Ethiopia has to do with our long conversation with Haddush, the director of the tranistion home for our agency. As we were talking while Mikayla napped, he casually asked me if I knew what her name, Tamir meant. My answer was, "well, not really-I'm dying to know!" My previous research on the internet seemed inconclusive...the closest I could get to a meaning for her name was "owner of palm trees." He shared with us that meaning of Tamir in Amharic is "miracle." WOW! Then, he looked back at her file for a moment and looked me straight in the eyes and said, "And she is indeed a miracle, this Tamir." My heart absolutely melted. Knowing her story means knowing that she truly is a miracle. I never want to forget the way that her caregivers say her name (I do my best with my southern accent), and I never want to forget the intensity and love in Haddush's words as he shared more about her name. Her name is such a gift from her country, and I am so grateful for that.
Her first name, Mikayla, also has significant meaning for us. It actually is our prayer for our little girl. Mikayla means "like God" and "a gift from God." Our fervent prayer for her is that she will grow to have a heart like God. A heart that follows hard after Him and loves all of His people just as He does. Names can seem so simple, but her name, Mikayla Tamir, truly tells her story.
Powerful! Names are so powerful and important in Ethiopia. It was so important to us to name our kids something equal to the value they place on names. I love her name AND the divine meaning behind it!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you found out the meaning! We also kept the boys' Ethiopian names as middle names and picked names that had meaning for the first names. Luke Mirtus means "bearer of light" and "he who has been chosen" our prayer is that he will bear the light of Christ in his life someday, and always remember that God chose him to be in our family. Benjamin Mihereteb means "son of my right hand" and 'God has had mercy on us". Our prayer is that he will be a right hand man to his heavenly Father's work, and will remember that God had such mercy on our lives in the process of adoption and beyond! What a special name your little girl has!
ReplyDeleteOh Kathy, your little girl's name is perfect! A miracle and gift from God for sure!!!
ReplyDeleteHow cool! Her name has such great meaning...our kid's former name just sounds like the Amharic word for "Car" :) Miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful testimony!! Thanks for sharing. She looks like such a dearheart:). I'm so encouraged to be following your journey!
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