The story of Jackson--Part 1 of a Million

Choosing a name for our baby was not difficult. Keeping it a secret was. Most couples today share their baby's  name before he or she is born. And I admit, I always love knowing that information. But there are so few good surprises left in life that we wanted our babe's name to remain a mystery until the day of his arrival. So how did we decide on Jackson Kenneth Yarrow Doman? Let me start at the end.

Doman... Obviously his surname. It's not a name that was given to him by human choice but by the Divine. For some reason, God chose to place baby Jack in the Doman family. He chose for him to be born in sunny South Florida and be a part of a family that tries to put God first in all that we do. God chose Jack to be born to parents who will pray with him and for him--and teach him about the amazing love God has shown to us.

Yarrow... When we discovered we were having a boy, I wasn't quite sure what to do with that information. The Yarrow clan (my maiden name) is littered with girls and very few boys. In fact, on my dad's side of the family, no boys have been born since my father--which was way back in 1931! So the family name was dying off with all these girls. Ken and I wanted to preserve a bit of my family history by giving our son this second middle name. We also wanted to remind him of the kind of people his ancestors were. His great grandfather Yarrow was a hard-working farmer from Kansas. Charles Yarrow and his family were people of strong faith and a reverent fear of God. Although they lived very modestly, they were amazingly generous with the resources God had given to them. We hope our son will do the same.

Kenneth... My husband's first name is Raymond, but he has been called by his middle name, Kenneth, for most of his life. In passing along this name to our son, I pray every day that he will turn out like his dad. I know it probably sounds sappy, but truly, I couldn't ask for anything more. Ken is one of the kindest, most gracious, loving, hard-working people I have ever known. He is devoted to his family and to his God. He is trustworthy beyond a shadow of a doubt. And he is way intelligent--although he never flaunts it nor uses it to make others feel less. He is a friend to all--people of success as well as the down and out. He has every quality I hope my son will inherit.

Jackson... Ken comes from a small town in Texas called Jacksonville. He was raised there, as was his mother and grandparents. It's a special place with special people. They rally around each other and help each other out in times of need. They look out for each other and have many of the small-town values that we hope our son will possess. So the name "Jackson" is a nod to all the wonderful people from Jacksonville, Texas who helped Ken become the person he is...from his grandparents to his friends to his teachers to his employers to his amazing mom, who still lives there today.

Even more importantly is the traditional meaning of Jack: God is gracious. What a profound thought. In a recent interview, Bono, of U2 fame, described grace this way:

You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. ... And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff. ... I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity. ... That's the point. It should keep us humbled.

Jackson Kenneth Yarrow Doman. Our baby. Our undeserved blessing from heaven ... a product of his unique heritage, our hope for the future, and a reflection of our belief in the limitless grace of our God.