Last night, our mental health speaker, David Woods Bartley spoke with us about the importance of names. Our names are precious words to us. They are our identity and our call. Many cultures have customs of giving names with particular meanings or purposes. Some people have namesakes or bear a family name. The Bible is filled with examples of people whose names meant something about them: Hannah (favor or grace), David (beloved), Daniel (God is my judge), Peter (rock), Eve (living), Adam (earth), and Jesus (God is salvation).

When I met David on Sunday, he asked me if I knew the story behind my name. I knew the history of the name Veronica. It had been popularized around the world by the Catholic church’s veneration of a saint with a peculiar (extra-biblical) story: St. Veronica was said to have met Jesus on the road to Golgotha and offered him a cloth to wipe his face. After Jesus wiped his face, the fabric reflected his image. She was given the name Veronica from vera icona, or true image. I told David that I took the story of St. Veronica as a call in my own life to reflect the image of God to the world.

When David asked if I knew why my parents had named me Veronica, I honestly didn’t know. The funny thing is that my parents didn’t have the saint in mind at all! My mom told me she had a certain fondness for the song “Veronica” by Elvis Costello, which was a tribute to the singer’s grandmother’s experience of Alzheimer’s. Costello spoke of how he would sit with his grandmother, Mabel Veronica, and “bounce around the years” with her. While most people speak of Alzheimer’s in terms of what has been lost, he describes a powerful embrace of his loved one just as she is.

I imagine Costello leaning in to hear his grandmother’s stories, offering the cloth of his attention, and seeing her true reflection in it. I hope I will be able to take the opportunity to do the same.

How about you? Have you ever thought about what your name means? What new meaning can you find in your name today?

But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1