Will You Call Out Valor?

We had "Naming Rules" for our babies.  Lots of people do.  Our rule was that each child would have a different first initial. It was mostly practical. Easy to label cups, lunches, etc.When it came to naming our third child, I didn't get too far in the baby-naming book.

Adelyn a-del-yn, ad(e)-lyn as a girl's name is of Old German origin, and the meaning of Adelyn is "noble kind".

 Noble kind ... I loved it.  Bill loved. it.  And nineteen years ago today, Adelyn was born. Proverbs 31 speaks of this noble one, this woman of valor. Eshet chayil.  Meant to be a blessing, a song of praise, sung by Hebrew families to the mothers every Sabbath.When Adelyn was born, she was tiny, but we saw in her seeds of eshet chayil ... nobility, courage, strength ... eshet chayil.Eshet chayil starts so small in our little ones. But if we look carefully we can nurture these seeds of valor and see them grow into something beautiful.

The toddler who fearlessly went toe-to-toe with mom or dad again, and again, and again.

The little girl who flew pell-mell to the ocean and ended up with 17 stitches.

And soon after stood courageously before friends and family proclaiming her love for Jesus and her desire to follow him all the days of her life

Eshet chayil is no longer just a seed, but growing strong, bearing fruit in this warrior.

(Thank you, Fuller, for the photo!)

And I wonder ... What would it be like if we recovered eshet chayil? If we nurtured seeds of valor in our little girls? If we called out the beauty of noble character, and virtue, and valor?  Today, would you join me in blessing another woman? A friend, your mother, a daughter? Bless her with words of valor. Bless her with eshet chayil.

 "A woman of valor, who can find? For her price is far above precious stones." Proverbs 31:10-31