What's In A Name?

When you are inspired to give your child a certain name do you think it is coincidence? I don't think so.

Our oldest son bears the name Joshua as one of his middle names. Like Joshua, in the Bible, he is certainly a leader! At this moment, he has earned his way to the position of Regimental Seargant Major - top position - in his cadet corp. In everyday life, he has also shown himself to be a leader - not bowing into peer pressure, but instead showing that their are better alternatives.

Dane has always been my 'Ray' of Sunshine. I have always called him my "Sunshine Boy". He has always kept us laughing and happy. His middle name is Ray.

When we named Gadisae Song Savannah it was an inspired name. The words, "She is a song in my heart," sprang from my lips when I heard the name Song. I just knew it was for our second daughter, who at that time was yet unknown to us.

The same friend, Denise, who blessed me with that name, was also the one who sent me this neat story of a little orphan girl named Gadise. I am not sure when she sent it to me if she realized how much this story would mean to me.

I hope you will read this sweet story that really makes me feel that Gadise was blessed with the name "Song", for a reason!

Our girls come from a culture that tells stories and passes them down to the children. When I read this story I think that I will try to learn it from heart and share it with Gadise as a special story that shows that God cares about little girls, especially little girls name Gadise.


In a town near a beach and crowded with people there lived an orphan girl. Her name was Gadise. Her parents died when she was small. Since then, she lived with her aunt. Unfortunately, her aunt was very poor and had a bad temper. She was always being cruel to Gadise.

Gadise was a diligent girl; she was always doing her job well. One of her jobs was getting water from a well. In a beach area, it was not easy to get pure water. The location of the well was very far from her home. When she was going to get water Gadise always came to sit under a big tree with dense leaves. At this time, she could rest for a while and be hidden from the hard sunlight.

Sometimes, Gadise cried under that tree, as she felt all alone in this world. She didn't know to whom she could tell her sadness. Between her tears, she always prayed to God asking for His protection.

Strangely, each time she cried, the tree always spread out its branches. The leaves waved slowly and made a beautiful sound, so that it seemed the tree was singing. The sound amazed Gadise and made her happy. The rhythm of the song cheered up her sorrow and made her forget all her sadness. The song became a lullaby. Soon, the little girl slept under the tree, and the big tree lowered its branches, so the sunlight could not harm her body. Whenever she slept too long, the tree woke her up by dropping one leaf onto her cheek.

Day by day, time went by, and one day there was big news that the King wanted to make a new royal ship. Many old trees being cut down. The wood was used to make that new ship. Gadise was worried as she remembered her big old tree. She wondered if the tree has been cut down, too.

One day, after she got water, she ran to her tree. She found there was a white cross marked on the tree, which meant her lovely tree would be cut too. Gadise was so sad, she could not say a single word.

Her tears dropped, and she hugged the tree tightly. "My beloved tree, perhaps this is the last day we'll ever meet. Tomorrow they will cut you down, and I will lose you forever. What's making sad is that I cannot do anything to stop it. Good-bye my beloved tree", she cried.

The tree lowered its branches. It seemed he wanted to hug that little girl too. The leaves wiped her tears softly, and suddenly there was a sound.

"Please don't be sad, my child. The royal ship will not sail without your wish. You must come aboard and together with me we will sail together."

That morning the big tree was cut. Some months later the ship was done. The King was very happy and had a big celebration. The biggest party was made to celebrate it. However, when they wanted to launch the ship into the water, the ship could not move. Many people tried to push the ship into the water, but still the ship could not move. The King became upset and angry.

The news about the royal ship which could not move came to Gadise's ear. She remembered the last message from her big tree. She tried hard to go to the harbor and finally she met the King. She asked his permission to sail the ship. The King did not believe that she could because there had been many efforts to make the ship move. Finally when the ship still could not move he decided to allow her.

Gadise came to the ship, with her love she swept the steer. "My tree, please help me. Move and sail! All the people want to see you sailing the ocean". All the people watched and waited to see what was going to happen.

The ship moved inch by inch into the ocean slowly. People who saw it yelled happily. The happiest man was the King himself. He asked, "How could you make this ship sail?"

"With God's blessing, Your Honor. The ship was made from the wood of my friend, the old big tree," answered Gadise politely. Gadise told King all about her life. The heart of King was touched and because he did not have a child he adopted Gadise as a princess.