names

Can I confess that I really hate the name Gretchen? Way back in junior high, I changed my name to Angie. I think it was part of the Sweet Valley High series. I thought about going by my middle name at one point, Noelle. Once I had been in Peru a few months, I realized that the name Noelia was a perfect compliment to Noelle. I still have the name Noelia on tons of stuff.

The name Gretchen means pearl. Pearls are formed when a foreign substance enters the shell of an oyster and in order to protect itself, the oyster covers the intruder with layer after layer of nacre. I wonder if I can relate this to myself in any way. Something enters my life which troubles me and instead of seeking to expel it, I just cover it up a million times over. I suppose I just hope and pray that something beautiful like a pearl will be the end result.

The reason this even came to mind this morning is because I was thinking about the names used in the book of Ruth. Wondering if there was some meaning to them. Naomi went to far as to tell everyone to call her "Mara" the word for bitter. She recognized that her life had been full and now empty and wanted everyone to address her in such a way. What are the other names in the book of Ruth and what to they mean?

Elimelech: My God is King! He was a man of the tribe of Judah, of the family of the Hezronites and we know that in an effort to provide for his family, he moved them from Bethlehem to Moab.

Naomi: The loveable, my delight!

Mahlon: Sickly

Kilion: The pining one

Orpah: Forelock or fawn. (I am not really even sure what that means.) She was the daughter-in-law of Naomi's who upon Naomi's suggestion chose to return to her family and her gods in Moab. Total sidenote...did you know Oprah Winfrey's name is actually Orpah, after the character in Ruth? So fawn being a young deer.

Ruth: A friend!

Mara: Bitter, sad. This was the name Naomi chose to represent herself once she returned to Bethlehem with nothing.

Boaz: Alacrity. (Again, no idea.) Possibly swiftness or strength.