The Meaning Behind the Name

I may have a slight obsession with names. 

When I was choosing names for my sons, I knew that I wanted strong, masculine, Biblical names. Matthew was quite literally a scary, he almost died, miracle birth. It reaffirmed to me that Matthew was a perfect name, as it means: Gift from God. His father and I passed on Lewis from him as a middle name, and it means renowned warrior. He certainly fought for his life in that first week!

When it came time to plan for Isaiah (yes, both sons were actually planned haha!), I wanted to carry on the Biblical name tradition. We debated on Isaac, Ezekiel (his choice not mine), Zechariah (my choice not his) and agreed on Isaiah. Isaiah means God is Salvation. My grandpa was named James, and my dad is too, so James was a natural choice for a middle name meaning one who follows...I liked this as he is the little brother, but also hopefully and more importantly will continue to be one who follows God. 

Just for fun you should know that Sarah means Princess (I think it's fitting, wink wink!), and I was amused to learn that Barrett literally translates to Power of the Bear. 

Anyhow, I say all this to come back to: names have power and meaning

I wanted to begin again with a new blog. It took me awhile to settle on Sarah Who Wanders. I am sure many of you are familiar with the Tolkien quote "Not all those who wander are lost." Actually, it comes from a longer more powerful quote that I am sure we could dissect, but let's look just at this verse. To keep it short and simple, the verse is in reference to Aragorn's adventures. It is a point that though he wanders, the wandering is not aimless. Every adventure had is shaping who he will become.  His strength came from developing himself. I love this. And yes, I totally have given you privy to my inner nerd! And no, Lord of the Rings is not even really a big favorite of mine (I know, I know), but I do like them. This though has always been a favorite line of mine. 


It is no secret that I am a wanderer, both in actuality and in spirit. 

I love to wander (travel) and have wandered quite a bit within creating myself. I adventured from teaching to nursing, and now hope to bridge that gap in the future. I will go as far as to say that no trip, no job, no degree, and even no bad relationship is ever without reason. All will forge you, form you, and prepare you. For what? Whatever lies ahead. 

 I used to be apologetic for my wanderings. For changing my mind. For changing me. Even for traveling. No more. "You're using all your PTO??" Me: "Yep. Every last hour."  I have been privileged to wander (and plan wanderings!) quite a bit in 2018. Turks and Caicos in February, Canada in June, Ireland this coming October and Leavenworth (Washington) in December plus local day-trips, hikes and camps. Next year will see somewhere tropical I hope with the kids and Germany at Christmas-time with Barrett, as well as anywhere else we can fit in and afford. I plan for it, I save for it, I keep a rough itinerary that is open to many changes as the mood and occasion strike.  These adventures feed my soul and change my perspective. Every time. They give me quietness within, journeys with my family or sweetheart, and always, always things to think about. 

I will continue to wander in life. Being a Triage/Care Coordinator RN in a pediatrics clinic works well for this season. I may become a Psychiatric NP, an RN in some other specialty, a nursing instructor down the road...we shall see. Teaching still calls, so you never know there either...I will keep you (and myself!) guessing.


 I do not feel lost; I feel, as ever, simply in progress.  

I will continue to expand and explore myself, art, music, nature, my writings and my hobbies. I think we all should. I have a hard time thinking we are ever set. We are never done. I will stop learning the day I pass on from this life. 


Thus the name. Sarah Who Wanders. It fits. 



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