mistaken identity

I had the rare privilege this morning of spotting a wild turkey and a bald eagle during my brief visit to the local pond.  The turkey hen was especially interesting because she allowed me to get fairly close before scurrying from the roadside into the deeper brush.  The eagle provided a flashing glimpse as he soared powerfully overhead to a perch in trees alongside the pond.  But I was curious about the turkey...was there anything unique about this bird?  A little "Googling" surfaced the background for its name.  Early European explorers mistakenly confused the bird with guinea fowl that came from Africa and were imported through the country of Turkey to the tables of Europe.  But the turkey was actually unrelated to that bird, though its name stuck.  The thought occurs that each of us has a name given to us at birth.  Our names often have something to do with our family heritage.  Many names seem to have popular periods or trends and then fade from use.  Other names are classic and associated with Bible figures or great people of the past.  It's interesting that our names are given before anything is really known of our true character or personality.   But, more interestingly, our Heavenly Lord knew of our identity and laid out our personal design long before we made our earthly arrival.  He has a name for each of us because he has made us each uniquely.  We may feel like our name is "turkey" and our lives are ungainly and unattractive but this isn't the Lord's view.  Each of us has unique purpose and special value, and one day will know the name He has given us.   As we walk with Him now we find the purpose He has named us for.

Psalm 139:16 You saw me before I was born.

    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸ I can't even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

 blessings,