What's in her Name?

Gwendolyn

The Welsh word gwen meanswhite, fair, or blessed. The word dolen refers to circle or ring. Thus in the name Gwendolyn we have called our daughter blessed ring. We hope that she will be, as all the faithful of Christ, like a signet ring of the Lord Yahweh: a constant display of the presence, power, and love of the living God.

I have taken inspiration for this meaning from the book of the prophet Haggai. In this short story the Lord tells Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, that he has been chosen by God to be a signet ring of the divine presence, a blessing to the people. And the work of Zerubbabel's hands, if in accord with the Lord's will, shall be blessed. So do we hope for our daughter. 

We hope that she will carry with her and shower upon others great blessings of imagination, compassion, and wisdom. May she be, like a ring given in promise, a sign of covenant relationship. May her presence be a reminder of the Spirit’s love for everyone she meets. 

Hope

Humanity cannot live without hope. Hope is that which imagines a future better than the present. Hope is the mother of all change for the good. She displaces fear and keeps despair at bay. To live with hope is to cast off sparks that set the world ablaze with new possibility. Thus in the name Hope we have asked the Lord to make her a light in the darkness. May her presence inspire others to better things; may her voice call hearts to labor for the divine in the midst of the human. May our daughter’s life be a promise of greater things to come, a Blessed Ring of Hope.

There is a happy double entendre in the translation (though not in Welsh): blessed ring of hope can refer to a sound, like a bell of hope tolling in the village. So we ask that the life of our little one might be a clarion ring to the world of something higher and better. May she be a song of blessing, singing the harmony of the Father of Lights, from cradle to grave and beyond.

~emrys