Many years ago, I asked my mother how she decided on my name.  In great anticipation, I waited for some profound meaning or story. Instead, the answer was a disappointment.  “Oh, I don’t remember! You were the 4th kid!” My heart sank. Even my own mother couldn’t remember what was special about my name.

Still, I wondered about the answer to that question. So, during a conversation with my dad, I mentioned this encounter and my disappointment with my mother’s response. He immediately said, “Well, I named you! Maybe that’s why she doesn’t remember.” Then to my surprise and great pleasure, in an emboldened voice, he said, “I named you after the ‘Unsinkable’ Molly Brown!” My dad knew my story!

Determined to find more information about the “unsinkable” Molly Brown, I did a little research. I discovered that Margaret “Molly” Brown was one of the survivors from the Titanic. She was on Lifeboat 6 (the third lifeboat to launch from the sinking ship) that was filled with women, a Pomeranian and a ship’s quartermaster.  As the story goes, she took control of the boat after the crewman lost hope of survival. She was said to have been a strong willed and spunky woman who’s “never say die” efforts were crucial to the survival of those in Lifeboat 6.  There are several tales about the notorious “unsinkable” title; however, it would not be a stretch to say that anyone surviving the sinking of the Titanic is a miracle.

As it turns out, the having such a namesake is quite appropriate for me, given the difficulties that I have faced in my life. In spite of it all, I have somehow overcome; I have, in fact, been “unsinkable”.  As much as I would like to say that I have a strong-will and “never say die” attitude like Molly Brown, I can’t.  I am easily discouraged and quick to claim that the situation as “hopeless”.  In truth, I am actually quite “sinkable” but I have the best life preserver that a human can have; God.

One might say that it’s an interesting coincidence between the everyday struggles that have required me to be “unsinkable” and the notorious nickname, but I don’t believe in coincidences.  I believe in God-incidences and that is exactly what my name is about – God’s claim on my life, before I was even born.

Just as my earthly father knows the story of how I got my name, my heavenly Father knows the story of my life. The amazing part of that revelation is that not only does my heavenly Father know my story, but he knew it before I was born.  He knew what lay ahead in my life and that my discovering such significance in my name would come at just the right time – when I needed to be reminded.

“You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest…You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head…You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb…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.”   Psalm 139:3, 5, 13, 16 (NLT)