My Name

I was visiting Stephanie and saw that she posted the story behind her daughters name, after I had expressed an interest in her choice. I know that probably many of us have interesting naming stories so I thought I would tell mine. Here goes.

Back in grade school my mother had a group of little friends. They did a lot together, but one girl in particular became my mom's BEST friend. When I have asked my mom to tell me what she was like, the descriptions were not too terribly specific, but still conveyed some images to my mind. Here are some things I learned.

She was Jewish, very sweet, the nicest girl, caring, funny, fun, smart, and that my mom loved her to pieces. Strangely enough, they lost touch when her family moved away from the area that my mom lived. They were so young that they didn't really know how to stay in touch. Addresses were lost or misplaced and she never has seen her again.

I think there must be even more to the story then this. Reading between the lines, I suspect part of the attraction for my mom was because of the fact that her friend was Jewish. My mom was raised with the belief that the Jews are the People of the Covenant and that God's Promises intricately involve them. Also, that God still loves them and has not cast them off forever. I suspect that when my mom was with her, that the reality of God's Plan for the earth really hit home. So, she was special in that way, and on top of that, a great girl with a great personality who also identified with my mom. No matter what all the reasons were, she has certainly left a lasting impression.

Over 20 years later when I was born and adopted into my family, she still carried the memories of her so strongly, that I was named "KARA" in her honor. I don't believe that the name in and of itself is Jewish, but I feel blessed to have been named after her, a nice, Jewish, girl.

As an afterthought, with today's advances I'm sure we could find her. I do wonder about her and what her life turned out to be like.