Names Part II

Olivia Lian. This child had her name before she was born.

The night that Jesus was betrayed, he took his disciples to pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane was an olive grove. Olive oil was life giving to the Hebrew people. It was used for food and it was used for light.

Jesus is life giving to his followers.

As olives are pressed in order to eek out the oil, we are pressed to see our need for Jesus. Therefore, her name is Olivia.

The name Lian has a couple of meaning to us. My middle name is Leigh (pronounced Lee) as well as as my mom, my cousin and my niece. So Lian was after me, kind of. But it is also after big sister Grace. You see, in Chinese, Lian means lotus flower or graceful willow. Keep that in mind, because you'll see the theme of Grace again as I introduce you to the stories behind the names of the other children.

Tomorrow is Elliana Karen's birthday, so I'll be skipping out of order, I'm sure Josiah won't mind.