As Matt likes to say, if God were on trial there would be a guilty conviction based on one piece of evidence alone – all the fingerprints He’s left behind. Because there are just so many awesome God Sightings, I will share a new one with each post.
Sasha’s Name
When we received our third official referral of a little girl we were told her name was Alexandra. This referral came at a time when our hearts were very guarded so we really tried not to get excited. However, from the very beginning there were just too many things pointing to God that we could not deny. Back in December, 2008 my mom gave us a baby name book for Christmas. The following week we took a road trip to MN so we took the book along and were fantasizing over what names we liked. During that conversation I made the following comment to Matt: “you know a name I’ve always liked for a girl? Alex.” He agreed and we went on daydreaming about what our child may be called. To see her name brought this conversation back and served as one point of confirmation that this just might be the one we have been waiting for.
Shortly after we accepted the referral of Alexandra we learned that the short name for this in Russian is Sasha and that is what she goes by at the baby home. As I’ve mentioned previously we still don’t understand the correlation but so be it. We were struggling with this as we prepared to meet our daughter because we had become accustomed to the name Alexandra. After meeting her, the name Sasha just seemed to fit her but we were still skeptical. On the second day as we were making the 3 hour drive to go visit her I took a book along. I had started this particular book back in November but with everything going on had only read a little of it. This is kind of unusual because typically when I start a book I can’t put it down until it’s finished. Anyway, as we drove I began to read and only got about 10 pages into it before the author began reflecting on a story. The story was about a girl who was returning from camp and as she went to meet her dad realized she needed to go back to the bus and look for Sasha. She was frantic to find Sasha. The story went on about who Sasha was to this girl but for me it was confirmation. To be reading this part of this book on this exact day was no accident. This is not a popular or common name so for it to be in the book at all is surprising. I truly believe God knew back in November that we would be searching for an answer as we drove to see our daughter for the second time. Had I finished the book right away back in November more than likely I would have never even remembered these couple of paragraphs from this book that talked about Sasha.
So we will call her Alexandra Sasha Carr! When we told this to our facilitator in Moscow he was very puzzled and laughed. He couldn’t understand why we would use the same name for a fist and middle name. I guess it’s kind of like me being named Jennifer Jenny Carr. When I think about it that way I can see why it would seem strange. We explained that in America people are not going to understand why we call her Sasha if her name is Alexandra. While it probably wouldn’t have been our first choice, that is her name. When we pick her up at the baby home she will actually leave in clothes that we bring for her to wear. Since she doesn’t even get to bring a familiar shirt with her I think it’s only fair to let her have at least her name to cling to as we transition into a new normal. Already we are putting what’s best for our daughter before our own desires. Amazing how God instills that into a parent even before your child is born or brought home for the first time.
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