Most Americans are named because our parents like the sound of the name, whether it’s a family name or a popular name. What I love about many other cultures is that most people know what their name means. In the Bible, God’s name is significant. We are even familiar with some of them. Abba means Daddy, Jehova Jira the Provider, El Shaddai, God Almighty. God proved himself to be the “God Who Sees Beforehand.”

Kai Marshall is the fifth child and fourth boy in a family where all the children’s first names start with a hard K sound and the middle name starts with an M. Not many names are left, so coming up with a name for him was not easy. As if that wasn’t enough, he was conceived during very difficult times for our family.

Determined to celebrate that the Lord granted my request for another child, I searched for a meaningful name. During the Young Adults Bible study in Philippians 4, I was reminded of the Greek word for Rejoice, Chairo (said with a hard K). Jon and I played with it for a while. I told my closest friend, Angela, and she looked at me without missing a beat and said, “Chairo… You’re going to name him after the capital of Egypt?” Um…No.

My spiritual dad from Hawaii says, “Name him after my Hawaiian name. David is Kawika.” So, we started looking at Hawaiian names and came across Kai, which means water. But this is the age of relativism, and things mean what you want them to mean, right? We shortened Chairo to Kai, reminding us to rejoice no matter the circumstances.

Sunday morning, June 22, the puzzle pieces came together. As we sat in our grief, trying to see through the tears, I heard my friend’s voice from that Young Adult Bible study say, “Maybe we don’t have peace because we’re praying, but we’re not being thankful.” Philippians 4:4-7 overwhelmed my soul. How do I have peace when I am so broken? How do I breathe? How do I rejoice? How does my heart not become bitter and angry? How…How…HOW LORD DO I HOLD ON TO YOU?

Lift one hand to the Lord in prayer. Take all your petitions, worries, and griefs to the Lord in prayer. Don’t leave one thought, feeling, or worry hidden from His presence. Cry out to Him in the anguish of your soul. Lift up the other hand in Thanksgiving. One steady theme has emerged for me in my reading of the scriptures. It’s like God has grabbed my face and said, “LOOK at Me. Worship Me. Hope in Me.” When I view my life with eternity in mind, the present sufferings become smaller because I can see the Glory of the Cross. I am thankful that MY GOD IS BIGGER than anything I face. Thankfulness that God sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood!

It’s amazing that the very verses that have brought me hope and peace are also the very verses in which I found Kai’s name.

Chairo in the Lord always. I will repeat it, Kai!