I typed in my search bar early this morning.."What does the name Vivian mean in the Bible?"....
The search populated and it caught me with such sweet overwhelming assurance of Father's goodness...
Wikipedia: Vivian means ....alive; lively.
Ancestry: Vivian has origins back to the Latin word 'vivus', meaning alive or full of life.
Prokerala: The name Vivian is Chrisitan Jewish, meaning lively, Bubbling with life...
Then the tears came.
Isn't that just like our God?
To give this name to a child that by all medical and societal standards was given the name "death, terminal, and lifeless"....
I wish I could say that Eric and I chose her name intentionally. I wish, looking back, that we would have really dug into the meanings of our children's names. Like they did in bibilical days. Parents searched and gave the children names of honor, integrity, and names that carried values they wanted for their children.
It is not that we didn't want these things, we just didn't know this was a thing. This wasn't our families' practice to seek out the meanings of our children before we named them.
But God knew..
He knew their names when He created the earth.
He knew the names He would draw us to, unknowingly pulled to the ones that would bring us so humbly to His throne years later as we searched each child's meaning.
My God is a God of provision.
Sweet, sweet provisions.
Our devotional these last few days have been on the book of Judges. It has been a harder book, one full of a lot of lows and lostness. A faithful God in the face of an unfaithful people.
Monday started us into the book of Ruth. Studying the names of Noami- means pleasant, gentle, and then the name she gave herself, Mara-meaning bitter, after her suffering, brought us to looking into each child's names, even our own.
We had looked briefly through a few and then had to put it down each day as to start our school and work routine each day.
And just like God, today, on Vivian's 5th birthday I find myself so humbled and deeply felt, as I see the name God gave our daughter, five hard fought years ago.
Vivian....
Alive.
Lively.
FULL OF LIFE.
Only God....
Last night we stayed up late decorating and blowing up balloons. It has become our family tradition that all help decorate for the birthday girl or boy the night before.
We chose Vivian's birthday theme of cutie oranges as Vivian loves the taste of orange juice. Even on bad days, she will make great effort to drink from her bottle if you put orange juice in it.
We went last night and bought a buggie full of little cuties oranges. I almost got worried we would get stopped at check out due to the store having a limit per person I wasn't aware of!
I had been on pinterest (like all mom's do) the week before, trying to narrow down the mountain of cute pins and make good choices for the pins I would attempt with limited time and lofty craft goals.
We used to host big golf tournamnets, and 5K fundraisers on their birthdays. It would take weeks to plan, and we would all rally the day of their birthdays to share in the excitement of their special day as well as the massive out powering of support from the community to make the monetary goal raised.
It was a precious time of community, and we still host the events, just moved the days around a bit.
Over the years, we have decided as a family to pull back in a little. We still celebrate Drake and Vivian big, and anticipate their special days for weeks. We plan the balloon colors and the sweet themes that meet their personality each season.
The older they get, sometimes the bigger crowds and noise can be over stimulating and can take a lot out of them physically to make work.
Each passing year we get with them, we realize how precious our time truly is. Our time as a family to take them in, to slow down and get on their level, our time to press in together. To remember God's faithfulness in sustaining their little bodies and to be reminded of their courage and grit they show us every hard earned day.
Today we ask you to join us.
Vivian's birthday is in August, and good Lord willing, Drake's birthday will come in October.
Our goal at the foundation is still the same:
To bring hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ, raise awarenss and funds for better treatment for Non-Ketotic Hyperglycinemia, NKH (the disease Drake and Vivian severely are effected by), and to care for families with special needs.
Each year we set the goal amounts to reflect the years God has given us with them and the brave fight we have watched them endure.
We would be honored if you would partner with us and make a donation in their honor to celebrate their life. All children fighting these tough odds are special, and these two precious warriors have our heart.
We will host the fundraiser from now until the end of October, so if you can't get to a donation in their honor today, do not stress, we know life can get in the way. But if you find them coming back to your mind tomorrow or a week from now, I challenge you to make that contribution.
This week I have been reminded how precious time is, how perfect our God's provisions are, and what a short window we have to make an impact.
Today, we snuggle our babies a little tighter. We slow down and breathe in their sweet smells and feel their warm cheeks. We thank God for another year.
Another opportunity to love them well, and to change the world through their resilient fight to find a cure.
Online donations can be made at DrakeRaydenFoundation.com/donate. Want to mail a check, no problem! Checks can be mailed to our secure PO Box at 2607 Woodruff Road, Suite E PMB 352, Simpsonville SC 29681.
All proceeds go to the Drake Rayden Foundation a 501(c)3 non profit and your donation is fully tax deductible as applicable with the law.
