The Naming of Jude, Part 4

[read part 3]

When we decided to name our son Jude as a testimony, I wasn't thinking about his birth. But as that time grew closer, and as praying friends expressed their confidence that the birth was going to be a beautiful experience, I began to hope that his very entry into the world would be an occasion for praise—that unlike my “shellshocked and traumatized” description of my feelings immediately after Elijah's birth, my feelings after Jude's birth would be ones of joy and praise.

I prayed that God would remove my fears and enable me to trust Him, to sense His presence as I labored. I prayed that He would get glory, that His grace and goodness would be on display, that He would fill my heart and mouth with His praise. Two weeks before Jude was born, I wrote in my journal:

"Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise..."
--Psalm 102:18-21

I want the story of Jude's birth to be a lasting testimony, a story of God's faithfulness not merely told now to my friends and family, but told for years to come, so that even those yet unborn would praise Him—that Jude's name would be fulfilled even as he comes into the world.

Lord, let it be said that when I was in labor, You looked down, You condescended to help me--You heard my groans and set me free from all fear. Make it so, Lord, that I and all those present may declare Your name and praise You!

And He indeed answered those prayers...but that's another long story for another day :)

In the meantime, I am thanking God for the praise He has already ordained from me, and I am praying that Jude's name would be not only a testimony to me, but a prophecy for him—that Jude will “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).

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The whole story:
part 1
part 2
part 3