God, I have no idea what I’m doing here! I’m so unqualified! I inwardly groaned. But I’m here…so do something crazy! I begged. For the first time in my life, I stepped into the classroom — not as a student, but as a part-time teacher.

***

Sitting at his desk and engrossed in a world of his own, his curious little eyes wandered the perimeter of the small schoolroom. Lying neatly on his desk sat his first worksheet completely untouched. His dark hair hung braided down his back — the native blood running strong through his veins. Quietly, I ambled over to his desk.

“Do you need help?” I asked.

Nothing but silence hung in the air. He stared straight ahead, not daring to look at me or to speak.

Kneeling beside his desk I tried again. “Can you read this to me?” Still nothing.

“What does this say?” I probed. No response.

How do you help a kid who won’t talk? I awkwardly sat there in the silence wondering what to do next.

“*Nashua!” I determinedly whispered his name. “Can you read this to me?” The little Indian man snapped to attention. He had heard his name and immediately, he responded. Time and time again, it would seem he was in another world altogether, and only as I spoke his name would he come back to reality and engage with me. To him, his name was important. Nothing else could get his attention, nothing except that I knew his name.

***

God knows your name. And your name is more than just a name to Him. You are His precious child. When God speaks your name, He speaks the very identity of who you are in Him. He whispers it close, I am here. I’m with you and I know you. You are my child. In the deepest, darkest seasons, in the moments when life leaves you numb — if you listen in the quiet you will hear Him whisper your name…that very name that can bring to life what has been dead for so long, that very name that can resurrect the passion and fire once possessed, that very name that can enable a person to rise again and climb higher: My child. In one gentle whisper a whole life can be resurrected.

My child, you are Mine. I know you, I love you, you are Mine.

Because for Him, it’s more than just a name.

*name changed