This morning, I am preparing to go and have my hair cut to donate for cancer wigs. I've been growing my hair out for two years, for precisely this purpose. I'm turning 30 today, and the Calgary Dream Centre is having their annual radiothon fundraiser. Being the bright girl I am, I thought it would be great to combine the two events (the radiothon and the haircut) to get both more hair (in the future) for wigs and more money (now) for the Dream Centre. So I'm going to be on the radio.
With this excitement in my near future, I woke up before my alarm and knew it would be pointless to attempt to sleep, so I got up and came to the computer to check my e-mail.
If you've been reading this blog for very long, you know that I have a "thing" about names and their meanings. Here is today's Prime Time With God devotional:
Calling by Name
These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz. - Genesis 36:15
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman
God is big on giving meaning to names. Names often are specific indicators of God's plans and purposes for that individual. A young boy grew up as Moses' servant. His Hebrew name, Hoshea, means "salvation." As the lad grew, Moses could see that he had a "different spirit" from the rest of the Hebrew men. He was selected to be one of the 12 men whom Moses chose to spy out the land of Canaan. Before the expedition, Hoshea was given a new name by Moses-Joshua, which means "the Lord saves." Joshua became the new leader of Israel who would lead them into the Promised Land. He would, in fact, save an entire nation.
In my own journey I had learned that God gave me a name that had something to do with my future call from Him. I was 44 years old and had just gone through two of the most difficult years of my life. During that time, God brought a man into my life who discipled me in areas where I had never been trained. I was discovering many new spiritual truths about myself and Christians in the workplace. I came to identify with the struggles of Esau and Joseph in their desire to understand their own birthrights. I began to write about these discoveries to help other workplace believers understand their own callings through business. One morning on a weekend getaway in the mountains, my friend looked at me and said, "Do you know the meaning of 'Omar'?"
Omar is my first name. My real name is Omar Smallwood Hillman III. Dr. Smallwood had delivered my grandfather. No one, not even my mother, knew the origin of "Omar." They put the "O" and the "S" together to call me "Os."
"You need to know the meaning of 'Omar.' It has something to do with your future," said my friend.
Startled by his assertion, that night I looked up the name of "Omar" on a computer program. Here is what I found:
Arabic for "first son" and "disciple," Hebrew for "gifted speaker," and German for "famous." Rooted in the Middle East, this name is rarely used in the West. Omar was the grandson of Esau. [http://www2.parentsoup.com/babynames/baby/o.html]
I was shocked. I had just completed 300 pages of material on the relationship of Christian businessmen to the life of Esau. My friend quickly concluded that God had called me to free Christian businessmen and women from the "Esau life." And He had allowed me to receive a name that related to the person of Esau. It was the closest thing to a burning bush experience I'd ever had. Could the Lord be this personal with us? Yes, Matthew 10.30 tells us He knows the very hairs of our head.
My name means "God's Flourishing Graceful Warrior" (I use all given names when I "do a name"). I find myself growing into that name a little more each day, with advocacy activities and the learning that I am doing about my self and who I am in Christ. (To those who know me in real life: I consider 'graceful' to be talking about the state of my soul, not how clumsy - or not clumsy - I am!)
I know that God knows me, and he knows what I am capable of. I'm beginning to come to terms with the very real possibility that he's led me to my event today, and the absolute certainty that he'll be with me through it. I don't have to be anxious - he's already on top of things.
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