"Sam I Am"

When Melissa suggested we name our boy after my beloved grandfather, whom we affectionately call "Paw-Paw", I was very honored, as was my family. Because he, like the Samuel of the Old Testament, was a strong man of convictions firmly grounded in God.
Names are very significant. God often gave a new name to people at landmark times or moments of blessing (Abram became Abraham, Isaac became Israel) and they always meant something when He did.

Samuel is another biblical figure whose name had special meaning. Long ago a meek maidservant named Hannah prayed long for a son, and God graciously blessed her with Samuel, whose name in Hebrew literally means "Name of God", but can also be translated "Heard of God". We also asked God many times for our Samuel, and we waited for two years. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to have a baby at all; in fact, we were actually in the process of filling out adoption forms when we found out!

Another similarity I discovered between our Sam and the ancient Samuel was a few weeks back at a worship service at our church one Wednesday night. I had found myself struggling lately with the burden of Sam, and something that was said made me realize that I wasn't giving the burden all to God. The thought came to me... "...my yoke is easy and my burden is light". So I decided then and there to "give" Sam wholly and fully to God. In the midst of the peacefulness of that decision, I realized that in the story of Samuel, Hannah also gave her Samuel fully to God's service in the temple.

Yet another similarity has become apparent, and that one is of anointing. Samuel, among other things, had the distinction of anointing the first two kings of Israel. "Anointing" is not a word that I really understood before; I knew that it was some kind of ritualistic pouring of oil on the head of someone who was sick or who was about to become a king. But there was actually a practical reason as well...the oils that were used actually had wellness and healing properties to them. Melissa's parents found out about some of these "essential oils", which we've been using on Sam. Carl used them on his problematic hip injury and has been experiencing a relief from the pain that his prescription medications to date have failed to provide. You can read more about them here.

As we travel down this path, and we have been given eyes to see some of the things God is doing is Sam's life, we realize that God's plan for our boy is much bigger than even we are. Long after we are gone, I firmly believe that God will be using him, as he already has been. He seems to like his two bibles, often turning to the pictures with Noah's animals in them; we call him "little preacher man" when we see him running around with them. He also has a fondness for the bible song that we sing in class, whereas the other songs he's not so interested in. We can't help but look at these things and think that God is planting seeds and will eventually make them grow into something really useful to His purpose.