I’ve never publicly shared why we named our daughter, Eden. Not because I am hiding anything, but there wasn’t that perfect ‘Instagram opportunity.’ So if you’re curious, here it is!!
Quick little side note, the first picture I posted of her after she was born was like a day or two after coming home from the hospital. It was not the typical picture-perfect setting like most people with their custom name plate and outfit in the hospital bassinet. It was between her cries in a snuggle me with a ‘hello world’ sweatshirt bubble that I ordered on Amazon, on my due date LOL. It was with no explanation of her name or the birth story or even her birthdate/weight. I was just literally trying to survive for a while, especially those first few days, so the last thing I cared about was an Instagram post (even though I thought I would not be like this before birth!) Props to the moms who even get themselves ready after giving birth to take cute & aesthetic family pics. 👏 I just wanted my Jimmy John’s sandwich and to go home after giving birth.
It was January 2024 when I fully read through Genesis. I kept being reminded of how the Garden of Eden was created to be a place of delight with God. Once sin had entered the world in the Garden, the need for a Savior immediately started. And one day He will return to fully restore the Garden to be with His children. It felt like every day that the word ‘restore’ or ‘restoration’ came to mind.
As I desperately wanted to have a baby, I was also reminded of Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” I wrote it on my fridge to look at in January 2024 and kept it up for 1.5 years. In that verse, God provided a miracle and a generation of impact for Abraham and Sarah. I found Genesis to be full of wisdom, new beginnings, hope, miracles, families starting, and creation that is unimaginable.
I was also a part of a college women’s ministry called Delight Ministries (hello, delight fam!) So when I realized Eden in Hebrew translates to ‘to delight’, it felt like a light bulb went off!
That’s what I want my daughter to be known for. I want her to delight with her Father, I want her to say YES to Jesus one day, I want her life to bring restoration to our family, and one day her friendships. Just as God has restored and renewed my relationship with my now Husband, as we dated for 6 years, so I want our daughter to be a reflection of our restored relationship.