Lincoln's Name

His name is Lincoln Cameron. He grew inside of me during the most turbulent time our family has ever faced. Choosing his name was easier than with our first son though one thing was similar: we picked the middle name first. God used Harrison to bring us peace after my first miscarriage, so we chose Pax for his middle name. For his first name we wanted something that sounded classic and strong. When Cameron was killed we were in shock for so long. But when Kris picked me up from the airport in Houston 3 days after it happened we had a moment in the car where he looked at me and said, "you know, I want to talk to you about what I'd like to do if this baby is a boy." My response? "I wanted to talk about that today, too. Part of his name should be Cameron." I'm pretty sure God reached right down in that moment and lifted us up from the fog by laying the same thing on our hearts. We both knew that our baby was a promise. Our Lord makes beauty from ashes and life from death. He brought us beauty and life to cling to in the middle of ashes and death. One theme from this time in our lives is that Jesus gives us hope in the storm. He is steady. So to go with the name Cameron which, for us represents life and adventure, we were drawn to a name that felt steadfast and sturdy. Lincoln. It fit and, once again, God gave us peace. His two names are so different but they fit him. He's calm and predictable but his eyes have this quality of life that reflect that same promise from the Lord. 

Is he a replacement for what has been lost? Never. We don't want to set him up for a life of living up to someone else's legacy. He is his own person and God has a plan especially for him! But do we think that he is a balm on our hearts where there will always be something missing? Absolutely. 

His name is Lincoln Cameron Redus and we pray that he grows to know the steady presence of Jesus Christ in a life filled with adventure.