hi, my name is....

New Name. Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?

i used to hate my name. when i was younger i would tell people my name was ryan which is actually my brothers name, but i thought it was cooler than my own. for a while i liked morgan. and then i just introduced myself as kris. which was ok because it is a shortened version of my name. in high school no one called me kristina, it was always farabough. and then i started to like my name. or at least my last name. in college it was the same. everyone called me farabough. some shortened it to 'bo' and that i loved. but to be honest, i have never been a big fan of my name.

however, gradually it began to grow on me. kristina wasn't that bad. and ann was a family name. it gave me a strong sense of connection. the older i got, the more attached i got to my name. Kristina means Christian and Ann means Gracious. my mom always used to tell me that i was her littler gracious christian. now that i am older, i love that. the character quality of graciousness is one that i take very seriously. i strive to live graciously; accepting of others, showing mercy and providing forgiveness. the 'christian' aspect of my name takes form as i try more and more to put Christ at the center of all i do. I call myself a christian, in more than just my name, and my actions should thereby follow. names take on new significance when the meaning is focused upon.

then i got married and lost the farabough. i was excited to take williams. easier to pronouce, easier to spell. plus it meant that i was forever connected to my husband in a special way. my name became even more important when i began to pick out one for my little girl. whatever name she was given would be spoken over her everyday. just as my parents continually called me a gracious christian, so i should pick a suitable, powerful and meaningful name for my little one. eleri means sufficient or enough and again ann means gracious. the verse "my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness" is eleri's verse. she is just enough. just perfectly sufficient. God made her just the way He wanted and that is enough. and she is just enough for us as she is. perfection.

i say all that about eleri because choosing her name brought mine to even more significance. she shares my middle name. the same as her grandmother, great grandmother, great, great grandmother and so on. she has the williams last name. my new last name. our family name. i am mrs rhys williams. she is eleri ann williams. i love my family. i love my family name. and though it has not always been the case, i would not introduce myself by any other name. no more ryan's or morgan's or ava's. i am kristina ann williams. nice to meet you!