Finding My Name~an Easter Week Story

When my mother was taken by cancer at the age of 55 and I was 33, there was no estate to divide, no money to deposit, no silver to share. After she was gone, I wasn’t saddened by the loss of anything tangible like an inheritance, but because there were questions I would never have answers to.

For instance, where did my name come from?

When my mother passed, I felt unsettled about this piece of my life. The older I got, my identity and family history became more and more important. I had never heard the background, the whys or whos of my name.  There was no connection to the past, no legacy left via family stories with the particulars. This left me feeling un-moored– although I’d been Jody as long as I could remember, certainly she had intentionally chosen the name Joanna, but why?

It never occurred to me to ask my her while she was alive.

My mother was Helen Elizabeth. Names matter; and I got neither name. I really would have liked Elizabeth, perhaps for a middle name. No, I was Joanna Lee–Where did ‘Joanna’ come from? And how did I become ‘Jody’? (Of course when I was little I was called by my ‘in trouble name’, “Joanna Lee!”)

The question remained, Who was I named after? So imagine my joy when several years after my mother died, I read the name ‘Joanna’ in the passage in Luke recalling Jesus’ resurrection story.  Continue reading “Finding My Name~an Easter Week Story”

Christian Bookstore, Holy Week

Jesus and I are on an outing the week before Easter.  We pull up to a strip mall; He unbuckles his seatbelt and I turn off the ignition.  As we climb out of the car and walk towards an open door He remarks, “Oh, a Christian bookstore; let’s see what they’re selling.” We step inside and nearly run into a banner displaying “Resurrection Eggs.” The … Continue reading Christian Bookstore, Holy Week

Peter & I, Good Friday {a #poem}

After the garden— The giving away, the giving up The ghastly truth poured out, Words like threadbare sheets Could not cover the lies, I do not know him! Yet He Who Can Be Known Returned for this one, Walking first in The Way Then across the waves, Wooing with words and An outstretched hand, Covering falsehoods with A grace-laced cloak of Red, the once and … Continue reading Peter & I, Good Friday {a #poem}

Resurrection–What Now?

Romans 8:11 King James Version “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” “quicken”–to make alive, to revive or resuscitate, as from death; hence, to excite; stimulate.” Visiting friends in New Orleans, the ‘big easy’ where … Continue reading Resurrection–What Now?