July 5, 2021 – “Naming Our Babies!”

         “What is in a name?” William Shakespeare gave this line to Juliet to say to Romeo.  Indeed, what is in a name? So much history and stories of successes and failures in life.

While attending a college class, the professor went off-script to tell us how to name your new baby by yelling it out the back door several times.  Mother called my brothers in for supper by calling out the backdoor, Jim and Gene!  Soon the neighbor girl married and had a little boy. She named Jimmy-Gene.

My husband and I were excited to have our first baby.  A new experience for sure.  Soon, I felt movements and was surprised I could feel movement on both sides of my stomach, as if two babies played football.  I asked the doctor if there were two babies, and he replied, I can only hear one heartbeat.

Just in case, we chose two names one set for boys and one set for girls.  Where to begin?  Then I remembered my Grandmother Suderman had three boys and one girl who died very young. (The story is written in “Lines are Fallen!” by Mom, Anna Daisy Siemens.

We agreed on Daniel and wanted to change to Danny.  My brother’s name, Donald Gene provided the middle name Gene, and the first name, Donnie, for the second baby.  Danny and Donnie. We chose girl’s names but we didn’t need them.  Danny Gene was born in 1952, and then came Donnie. But Donnie was born dead. My husband purchased a blue suit and a blanket to dress Donnie in for a graveside service.  The Minister who married us performed the ceremony with Edgar and his father, Rufus Edgar Combs, and my father, Herman Bennie Siemens in attendance.  Mother stayed with me in the hospital.  God comforted me in His gentle way. I was released a few days later to take Danny home a few days later and then realized how difficult it would have been to care for twins.  I began praising God for Danny.  I knew I would be see Donnie in Heaven.

We moved to Joplin, Missouri, where Ed attended classes in Ozark Christian College. Paul was named for Ed’s older brother who died at the age of twelve, and for a Suderman boy who lived from 1914-1916.  Paul was born in 1954.

When another baby was on the way, we chose a Bible name for our Timothy Mark. He was born in 1955, on the same day as Paul had been born. Then in 1956, our Anna Kathleen was born.  Ed chose the name, Kathleen.

Anna was a family name in the Loewen/Suderman families that came to this country from Russia from 1870 to 1880.  They came with 2,812,191 other immigrants.  Anna was a favored family name.  Now we have five generations with daughters named Anna.

What is in a name? God is Love. And because of His great love He created all of us and placed us on earth where we could serve Him. One thing God cannot do is not love us.  Part of Love is forgiving us when we sin against Him.

Anna Suderman (June 10, 1880- February 2, 1970), Anna Daisy Siemens (July 4, 1907 – October 1998), Emily Ann Combs (June 16, 2029 – ), Anna Kathleen Payne (October 10, 1956 – ), and Anna Michelle Payne (May 15, 1987 -).

When my brothers and I were playing in the driveway outside the kitchen window.  I teased my brothers until they wanted to hurt me.  Mother came outside and told me that my teasing my brother hurt her.  “I love all of you, and when you fight each other, it hurts me.”  From that moment on, I tried not to tease my brothers. This moment helped me see the truth of the following verses.

Then I read this scripture – See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be, has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.  I John 3:1-3.

Why did God create families?  We are born to a family in order to learn to love and to work together, not against each other. Love in a family begins when God and His Son Jesus has first place in our hearts.  Without Jesus there is no compassion, there is no love, and there is forgiveness.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. “  Matthew 22:37-39.