I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Revelations 2:17
My name is Doosuur.
"Why did you give me a girl's name?" I remember asking Mom as a wide-eyed school-aged kid back in Kaduna.
"It's not a girl's name," she answered. "It's unisex."
Dad said the same thing when I asked him later. It was obvious they had rehearsed their lines specifically for this moment. A unisex name. Yeah, right!
But then it has never bothered me that much. Not many people share my name (even if all the others are girls), so I find it unique, even nice. No one seems to judge me when I introduce myself.
No one, that is, until I meet the next Tiv person. I remember telling an old friend of Dad's recently, "my name is Doosuur."
He cocked an eyebrow to the left and looked at me queerly as if I were to blame for my effeminate moniker. "Why do you have a girl's name?" he asked.
What'ya asking me for? I thought. Ask them, this one looking at dad. But I sympathize with the man when I realize I might as well have just said "my name is Susan."
But beyond all the hullabaloo surrounding the name, it has come to be one of the things I like most about myself. Here's what it means:
It is good to depend on the Lord
No better testimony I tell you. I am proud of the way my people name their children. Every Tiv name has a story and some history behind it. The prevailing circumstances at the time of a person's birth usually have a lot to do with what he will be called. We probably borrow heavily from the Jewish way of naming their wards. Throughout scripture it is obvious that there is great significance attached to a name. A sampling:
… she shall be called 'woman' for she was taken out of man (Genesis 2:23)
Adam named his wife Eve [living] because she would become the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20)
"Your name will be Abraham [father of many], for I have made you a father of many nations (Genesis 17:5)
Then there is Sarah [princess], Isaac [he laughs], Esau [hairy], Jacob [he deceives], Judah [praise], Israel [he struggles with God], Moses [draw out].
The list is endless.
Let us not now forget Jabez [Oh the pain!] who didn't want his name to follow him and prayed famously, "Oh, that you would bless me and extend my lands! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!"
Each time God gave His friends a new name, it meant for them, and for Him a new level of relationship. When Solomon was born, God considered him so special, He sent the prophet to give him an affectionate pet name, Jedidiah [beloved of the Lord]. Perhaps even more precious to us are the pet names given to us by those close to our heart: "Munchkin", "Honey", "Poffin", "Pumpkin".
Whatever is your name, here's a thought for you. God has a name for you. A name for just the two of you. And you are the only two who will ever know it. Just the two of you. It's your very own pet name.
With love, Doosuur.
