St. John

From Holy Land

From Holy Land

I’ve always had an affinity for the name John. My maiden name was Johns and I dated four different guys named John until I finally found the right one. I didn’t plan it that way. It just happened.

So when John and I had our first son I told him he only had two choices: Either a John Jr or a John with a different middle name. We opted for the different middle name.

When we found out later we were going to have a second son, we were stumped. We’d used out best names on the first child, so this was going to take some planning. We looked through our family tree and ruled out Axenty and Cebia.

Finally we looked in a baby name book. I was getting nervous until we got to the “S”s. When I got to Shane, we both liked the sound of it. Then we saw its meaning – Irish for John! Perfect!

During my trip we visited the church on the site where John the Baptist was born. On the walls of the courtyard were mosaics from different countries with the “Blessed be the fruit of thy womb” scripture on them.

Just like Joseph knew his son was to be named John, I knew as well. I didn’t know that I’d have two sons (who are so different) with the “same” name.

Perhaps one day my two sons will prepare the way for something great and they’ll tear down Piedmont Hospital and put a church for pilgrims to visit.

But until then, I’ll keep telling them of the possibility of great things and hope that they choose wisely when the time comes.

Until Everyone Hears,