Power of Names

      I saw the stroller when I entered the locker room at the YMCA. I thought: "Oh, someone's brought their baby swimming!" 
      A bit early for my arthritis class, I watched the little ones finish up their "swimming lessons." More like "water lessons." Mom was holding the little brother, introducing him to the pool. After lessons, older brother joined them. Fast forward.
      As I came around the corner to get my stuff out of the locker, I saw an interesting sight:  Mom had created a little "corral" out of the stools that dot the locker room. Both little boys were inside the corral, the oldest munching on a cookie.
      As I dressed, I could overhear the conversation...and I was surprised to hear her call the older brother, "Calvin." I went back to the locker for my shoes, and I said, "Did I hear your mom say your name is Calvin?"  "Yep," the child replied. I said, "My children loved a comic book character with that name--Calvin and Hobbs." Mom chimed in: "Yes, he's named for that character."
      Ahhh...some things made more sense: the corral, the repeated prompts the mother gave Calvin to finish getting dressed, pay attention, sit down and put your shoes on, etc. Calvin was a busy, easily distracted, little red-headed boy with a buoyant personality! As I put my shoes and jacket on, he popped his head around the corner to check me out.
      He was a smart child, I could tell, and he would be giving his mom a run for her money. I wonder how much influence his name had on his parents...what would it one day hold for him? 
      Wait a minute...what do you call yourself? Are old nicknames stuck to your personality like glue? Check out what God calls us: His dearly loved children; His treasure, and more.