The Name Game: Judson Worth

We discovered we were expecting with Judson while on vacation in Israel. David said when I told him I was pregnant he knew two things immediately in the depths of his soul.

It was going to be a boy.

And something was wrong.

He kept his trepidations to himself and over the duration of the pregnancy lived in silent fear of what could be the matter with his son.

The name Judson was after Adoniram Judson the famous missionary. I loved the stories of his adventures in the far east and wanted my son to love travel and reaching the lost. Worth was just a beautiful sentiment…every life is valuable and precious. And not coincidentally, my father’s initials were JW. So the name was a perfect fit.

Upon Judson’s birth, as David and the doctor were gleefully shouting,”It’s a boy!” I saw his left hand come into the light and began crying and yelling over them, “His hand! His hand! What’s wrong with his little hand???”

Judson was born missing his four fingers, but had a perfectly formed little thumb tucked into his palm.

David became giddy! Happily grabbing that baby and saying,”It’s just his hand honey! Don’t worry! He’ll be fine! He’ll be the greatest left handed quarterback the NFL has ever seen!”

Now, not only was I scared to death about what was wrong with my son, I was also quite certain my husband had lost his mind.

I began to question my name choice…Judson Worth. Was this the name God had for this wee little baby in light of his hand or his purpose? Almost as soon as I had finished that thought, I audibly heard a voice in my mind…”I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Ps. 139)

I didn’t know it at the time…but the name Judson actually means PRAISE!

So this little guy was fearfully and wonderfully made for a specific purpose, and God was so sweet to give me that encouragement in the midst of my fear. Judson Worth…perfectly made, perfectly named.

David later explained how he had “known” all along that something would be “wrong” with this baby. There’s a lot more to the story than what I’ve shared here and to learn more about Judson and the lessons we’ve learned parenting him, go here to purchase my book.

But I’ll share this much with you here:

God doesn’t make mistakes. Judson plays incredible football and his level of competitiveness is downright scary. His little hand that had me so worried is now his favorite thing about himself. And I know that God doesn’t waste a single hurt or fear, He doesn’t play haphazardly in the lives of His children, and He causes all things to work together for good.