Which brings me to my next Happy Thought --> the one growing and dancing inside my belly! When we found out we were pregnant we were surprised and elated! Another baby!! I thought, Could it be our little Story girl? And so we started to plan and expand our horizons - in other words my organizational skills really set in and I focused on creating more space to accommodate for another child in our family and home. But amidst all the "nesting" and preparing, my heart wondered at this mystery - who is it? Who is this child?
As much as I assumed it must be Story, there was still that inkling inside me that said "what if it's a boy?" I was so excited to bring out the fairy wings and tutus and to meet our daughter that we always dreamed about...but of course I had to factor in that it could be another boy, another son. But who is our other son? What is his name? Preston and I never really thought about another boy. We just always thought of Courage and Story. I know that not every parent names their children before they are even pregnant...but we did. We thought up Courage and Story, and we dreamed them, and we prayed for them, and then...we created. And first came Courage. Next, I thought would be Story.
Preston always called this baby our little Mystery. There is such uncertainty in the unknown. And also joy and excitement in searching out the mystery. When the day came that we all eagerly anticipated - the day of our baby's gender reveal party, I tried to not have my heart set on a girl. I tried to be excited either way. But I cannot deny that deep down I really hoped it was Story...because 1. I can't wait to meet her, and 2. I think I was afraid of the "unknown" of this being a boy - another son that I hadn't imagined yet. A surprise. A Mystery. And when those blue balloons flew out of that box, I was indeed surprised...and confused. I had thought I would feel closer to this baby once I found out "who" it was, but since it was a boy I still felt like I didn't know who he was.
So after the party, Preston and I sat down and decided we needed to name him. I needed to name him because I needed to know who he was (and is). Preston and I believe so much in the power of naming - not just in names themselves, but in the prophetic act of naming our son and declaring who he is as a child of God.
So we opened our Hebrew translation books and searched online for meaningful names - we started with words that meant "Mystery" or "Revealed," or "Secret," something along those lines. But nothing sounded right.
One word (or name) that Preston found is the Hebrew word Yarah. When he started reading the meaning of the word: "to shoot an arrow, to hit the mark, to teach, to instruct, to direct..." it immediately caught my attention. Since discovering I was pregnant, I developed an obsession for arrows. I decided I would decorate the baby's crib and room with arrow print and the like. So when Preston said that Yarah can be translated "to shoot an arrow," I got excited! I knew we were getting close.
One of the first things Preston said after we found out we were having another son is that he felt that it is very significant in God's timing for Courage to have a brother next, rather than a sister.
This perspective was encouraging to me in my emotional response to the gender reveal. And so when we were trying to find a name for him, it made sense when the word (or name) Kairos popped into my head out of "nowhere." I believe it literally dropped into my spirit.
Kairos is the Greek word for "right opportune moment, or supreme moment." In rhetoric, it is "a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved." <-- this rhetoric description reminds me of an archer aiming at his target with his arrow. In the New Testament, Kairos means "the appointed time in the purpose of God," which reminds me of what Preston had said about God's timing in this being a boy. Needless to say, a great joy came alive inside me, like a big laugh, when we put these two words together:
Kairos Yarah.
Kairos Yarah.
This is our "Kairos moment."
This is our "Riddle in the middle of a Mystery" (as Preston once said long ago in the beginning of our love story).
This is our son, my arrow boy, Courage's younger brother, powerful and perfect with his own beautiful destiny.
I have two sons: Courage Ruah and Kairos Yarah. Each son is unique and powerful in the way God has (and is) created/creating him. Each name has its own beautiful and unique identity (Ruah is Hebrew for "Breath/Spirit of God; Wind"). Each boy will grow up as a son, a child of God, as brothers who will change this world and bring Heaven to earth!
I am SO excited to meet you, Kairos Yarah. <3
