What’s in a name?

Early last week I felt a nudge from God to get the writing out of my fingers & onto paper by launching a new blog or writing platform. I’ve been “stuck” now for almost a year.  I have great ideas swirling about; I just needed some motivation to ignite the spark.  Next up was finding a name that would encompass not only my writing mission  (whatever that is…ha) but would give a snap shot of me, Stephanie Nicole Petska.  I wanted something that was easy to remember.  My first idea was captured through a gift I received this past Christmas from a member of our church.  It was a beautiful necklace that read, “And She Loved a Little Boy.”  I loved how the words, in its simplicity, could share so much of my heart after losing Braden.  Although I love the name, I second-guessed the title, thinking it was too long & difficult to remember.  I then thought of the name”Warrior”, feeling called to give myself a name that would define my fighting spirit.  I thought it would be neat to highlight my heritage by translating “Warrior” in either Finnish or Irish, but nothing was sticking; nothing seemed right.  On my way to work the other day, I started thinking of female biblical names.  Ruth instantly came to mind, and it sparked emotion.  Ruth was my grandmother’s name & Annika was named after her.  My grandmother was the kindest soul you would ever meet. I have fond memories of my grandmother, her delicious sponge & coffee cakes, dunking Trenary toast in coffee or hot cocoa, playing bingo, and eating the chalky pink Brachs mints or hard butterscotch candies.  Because of my grandma, the name Ruth exudes warmth and love.  I felt I was onto something.

Who is Ruth beyond a loving grandmother & the middle name of my beautiful Ana?  In the Bible, we read that Ruth was loyal; she showed love & compassion.  Ruth also endured heartache & tragedy; she was an overcomer & God used her pain for purpose.  There is so much more to Ruth – this is just a snapshot and a glimpse of how our lives run a bit parallel.

Okay, I think I’ve found my blog name, RUTH!  It’s perfectly wrapped in meaning & the simplicity in the name will be easy to remember.  Well, that’s until I found out Ruth was a URL already being used in WordPress.  Shucks!  I even tried my grandmother’s nickname, Ruthie, with no such luck.  My impatience got the best of me, and “And She Loved a Little Boy” was created with “Ruth” as my very first post. Even though the name was a bit lengthy, I was beyond excited to start this next writing venture in/on a whole new blog site.

Fast forward a few weeks later, and I am on my final call with my life/business coach.  As we went over some recent career changes I had made, we started talking about my passion for writing.  His inquiries gave me permission to share my journey, explaining to him how I had “fallen away from my faith” after the loss of my son.  He interrupted the conversation to say, “You said something about your faith that sounded like you fell on your faith.”  Even though I corrected him to explain what I had really said, he still ran with it.  “Fall on my faith can be used as an umbrella, covering many different circumstances in your life where you’ve had to fall on your faith.  It also sounds like, ‘fall on my face,’ and this playful use of words in a title is a big deal in the blog/website world.  I think you should go with it.”  I didn’t think twice. I went home & immediately purchased the domain name.  So, here she is…..

Dear “Fall on my Faith,” I’m unsure of where this writing venture will take us, but I do know it’s a calling.  There is purpose in the pain.  I didn’t endure the journey I have walked to just sit quietly.  With this new excitement comes fear, hesitation, & many questions, but God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. God calls us to let our light shine so others can do the same.   Igniting it….now!