What is in a name?  My name is Elizabeth on my birth certificate, but my parents agreed to call me “Betty” because of a disagreement over the name “Elizabeth”.   Recently I chose to be called by my official name.  Somehow it makes a difference to me.  

The name of God I use the most is “My Heavenly Father”.  I am His beloved child . . . loved unconditionally.  I was just a child . . . not quite five years old . . . when I knew I was His child. I remember standing in our dining room near the hall and my father saying, “Betty . . . just because you repeated a prayer your sister said doesn’t mean you are going to Heaven!” I responded immediately with as much feeling as a five year old can have. “Daddy, I know I’m going to Heaven just like I know my name is Elizabeth Jean McGlauflin!!!!”  That “Moment” is one of my earliest memories.

I didn’t and don’t need to do anything for Him to love me.  God just does . . . because God is Love.  Even though I know Jesus loves me, I also know that I continue to have many needs.  When that happens it helps me to remember another name of God.  It is “I AM”. 

God told Moses to tell the Israelites ” I AM has sent me to you.” “This is my name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”  (Ex. 3:13-15) 

When I need patience, God says to me, “I am Patience.”  When I need love, God says to me, ”I am Love.”  When I need understanding, God says to me, “I am Understanding”.  He is everything I need and He longs to meet my needs to accomplish His purposes His way.

No matter how old I get, I will always be His child who needs Him desperately each day . . . and the great “I AM “ meets me where I am every day.

Elizabeth