Polyester. It didn’t make any sense. I was six years old, and I got it in my head that I wanted to change my name from Paul to Polyester. Maybe it was because I heard the word as an occasional nickname from one of my parents. But I was completely focused on changing my name. Fortunately (looking back), my parents didn’t agree. Two weeks stretched into two months, and I still would not relent. Finally, my mom and dad explained that my name wasn’t a mistake nor a spontaneous choice made during a last-minute dash to the delivery room. Rather, they had prayed, listened, and eventually decided. I like to think that God steered them in the right direction.

You may be comfortable with your name and have a genuine peace about who you are at the deepest level. Or, you may still struggle with your identity. I pray that today you can rest in the assurance that God loves you and has gifted you with a unique purpose in mind. May you trust in God today, even more than yesterday. And may your strengthened faith bring renewal and transformation to others.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children, and that is what we are! Because the world didn’t recognize him, it doesn’t recognize us. Dear friends, now we are God’s children, and it hasn’t yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears we will be like him because we’ll see him as he is. —1 John 3:1-2