I have a niece named Cranberry. I haven't seen her since she was 2, and she just celebrated her 16th birthday. I think of her all the time, and pray for her. My niece Cranberry is a big reason I love cranberries so much, and love to surround myself with cranberries, as a symbol of my prayers. Cranberries remind me that GOD's love and power knows no bounds.He is with us. He hears and answers our prayers!
In early December of 2007, a couple months before Cranberry was born, I was in her home and walked into a room where a show about cranberries was playing quietly on HGTV. The same thought struck her mother and I at the same time, and we said, "Cranberry! That's what we will call her!" My brother, her Dad, agreed, and so it was. Her "real name" was still being decided, but in the meantime, we all began calling her Cranberry. She has one of the longest names in our family, with 3 given names before her last name, and yet, with all those beautiful and meaningful names, we still called her Cranberry!
She was named in keeping with all the tree names my brother has given his children. The four names given to her on her birth certificate create a special acronym in honor of her paternal grandmother, my Mother, whose name for her grand children was AMMA.
Amma is an Indian name meaning, 'mother' and our family learned this through the story of Amy Carmichael, who was born in Ireland 9 days before Christmas 1867, and who lived and served in India for most her life. Amy Carmichael was my favorite missionary story when I was a little girl, and I'd have to say, still is. My biggest take away from her story, as a child, is what Amy learned about prayer from her mother. As a child, Amy Beatrice Carmichael had the idea that she wanted blue eyes rather than the brown ones with which she was born. She prayed earnestly that GOD would make her brown eyes blue, and when He didn't, her mother helped her understand that GOD always answers our prayers. Sometime with yes, sometimes no, and sometimes, His answer is wait. Amy's prayer for blue eyes was answered with both no and wait. Her eyes remained brown throughout her life, and when she was living in India, she came to "see" her brown eyes were a gift that subdued the differences between her and the people she served, namely, children. The children's name for Amy was Amma.
My Mother, Amma to her grandchildren, passed away exactly 35 months before Cranberry was born. Cranberry was born on the 44th day of the year, and my Mother was born in 1944. Another thread of meaning, another beautiful gift.
Happy Birthday, Cranberry! One day we will see you again. Know that this side of your family loves you very much! We have never not thought of you, on your birthday, and always! You matter to us more than we can say! You are deeply and dearly loved! Happy Sweet Sixteen!
