Devotion 6/24/2021

My name hasn’t always been Logan McLean Strike, but it is a name I’ve been playing with since I got married last summer. When taking classes at Wartburg, I introduced myself as Logan McLean, but when I applied for a library card, I filled it out as Logan McLean Strike. I wanted to know how it felt to be called this name, to try it as if it were a shoe I hoped to break in. Well, now my name feels as comfortable as an aged Birkenstock, because I legally changed my name just a few weeks ago! But I will never forget how it felt to be called by whatever name people assumed of me. No one bristled toward me as much as they assumed my name matched my husband’s. And I had to decide how important it was to correct them—or keep reminding them—of my preferred name.

This past year, I have often thought of transgender or non-binary persons that take a new name for themselves. How often do they have to explain something as simple as their name, and how often is that request dismissed because of stigma? It’s the small things that seem harmless and insignificant that often reveal invisible attitudes that are held within the heart.

I’ll always appreciate the folks that got curious with me—those that asked me questions about my name or even joked with me about how my new name sounds (one friend said I sounded like a race car driver!). Although it would seem ordinary on the surface, I felt that I shared my true self in these conversations.

Name above all names, you make us and you change us. Give us the strength of heart to enter our relationships with openness and curiosity. Bless us as we strive to love one another as you have loved us. In the name of Christ and with the Spirit we pray: Amen.