A Home By Any Other Name

"I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as

sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose

would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage."

~ Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

This quote, from one of my childhood favorite reads, always comes to

mind when speaking of the importance of a name. I do believe the

meaning of names is of great importance. Often in the Bible, God would

change a person's name to what he was calling them to become.

I want to share with the heart behind the name ‘House of Samuel’

It first came about while I was on a missions trip. A friend challenged me to pray about what

I would call my then future orphanage. Understanding the importance

of what I would call the ministry with which I would forever be associated, I

did not take the challenge lightly. I put serious thought and prayer

in making the decision. I read in my daily devotional 1 Samuel chapter

1. In the chapter Hannah's long-awaited wish to have a child had her

crying out to Jehovah. She tells God if only he'll answer her prayers

she will take the child she has been given and dedicate him unto the

Lord. It dawned on me how Hannah of the Bible and myself where

very much the same. Both of us had dreams, her for a child, me for my

orphanage. Both she and I found ourselves praying that the Lord would

grant us the desire of our hearts. And just as she had dedicated her

son unto the Lord, I wanted to dedicate my orphanage to him. I

determined to name my orphanage what she named her baby, Samuel.

And I would let my heart cry be the same. “Lord, grant me the desire of my heart,

and I will dedicate it back to you.

The name took on greater significance after I started the home and we brought in the children. Who was Samuel of the bible? He was a servant of God, someone who listened to

the voice of the Lord and obeyed. He devoted himself to doing the

will of the Father. He was a man of God. What more do I want for my children

than for them to hear the voice of the Lord and understand his love for

them? My desire is that they would seek his will for their lives and follow the

path He sets before them and out of the "House of Samuel" would come

many more Samuels.

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