Claudio and I had always liked the name Olivia. I think it was even a name we both mentioned liking back when we were dating. We decided not to name Jillian, Olivia because of a dear family pet named Olivia. But when we found out I was pregnant with a little girl... we felt that enough time had passed since the passing of the family pet... that we could use the name Olivia. Besides that I love it's meaning. Poetically it means "peace" and literally "Olive tree". Even the "olive tree" meaning I liked because it reminded me of Psalm 1
"Blessed is (s)he who walks not in the counsel of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night.
HE IS LIKE A TREE PLANTED BY STREAMS OF WATER
THAT YEILDS ITS FRUIT IN SEASON,
AND ITS LEAF DOES NOT WITHER.
IN ALL THAT HE DOES HE PROSPERS..."
Eden means "delight"... I've always loved this name and thought it was so orignal and that NOBODY would think of it. Until I looked on the name charts for 2011 and saw that Eden was in the top 10! oh well... I love the name anyways! We had made a list of middle names and let our friends vote for the name they liked. Thankfully, Eden was in the top three next to Scarlett and Mylah.
So by the time Olivia was 21 weeks we had settled on Olivia Eden ...
"peace and delight"
However I was waiting for those two words to describe the moments in which she was born. A time of peace and delight. Over the past 8 months we had experienced a lot of worry, doubt, and insecurity as a family. So I was asking myself... how does her name fit into this plan of "caos"? It doesn't make sense to me...
Until March 11th, the night before Olivia was born I read a devotional that pieced it together for me. It made Olivia Eden make sense. It made the past 8 months make sense. It made me realize, God had chosen Olivia Eden's name... and HE really did already know this little girl before we did.
"God is a perpetual refuge and security to his people. His providence is not confined to one generation. His bounty and compassion extend across the ages. His eye has never slept. He has never allowed the little ship of his people to be swallowed up when they have been tossed upon the waves. He has always been a haven to preserve us, and a house to protect us....
In all generations he has been a dwelling place to keep his people safe here, and transport them above. He is never weary in his providence, and never faints in his care. He has never lacked the will to relieve us, nor the power to support us....
When we come to God for fresh benefits of grace, it is always good to remember his former benefits. Our current needs should stir us up to pay the interest of thanksgiving on past blessings. We are unworthy of new mercies when we do not acknowledge the mercies we have already received. The greater the danger, the more we should call to mind God's former kindnesses.... God is our dwelling place. He bestowed upon us the strength of his power, and the riches of his love. There is NO reason to doubt that he will continue to do so. The vast mountains were created by his hand, and much less power is needed to sustain us in our need."
There it was. I was looking for Olivia Eden to mean one thing.... that our circumstances would be "peace and delight"... and then I realized... It's GOD who must be our "peace and delight". It's in Him that we must dwell and rest.
So my prayer for Olivia Eden is that GOD would always be HER "peace and delight" and her life and birth is forever a reminder to us that God is our peace and delight no matter our circumstances. And the amazing thing to me... is that God already knew her name, the day she would be born, the meaning of her name... and the circumstances in which she would come to us. Praise God for his former kindnesses and the riches of his love that are new to us!
Praise God for Olivia Eden!
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