Encounter the Nameless

Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
John 8:10

She was walking toward me with an angelic grin on her face. I knew her. I welcomed her face. I couldn't remember her name.

What was happening to me? I talked with her almost every week. I considered her a friend. Why was her name escaping me?

Did my brain fall out during the fourth birth?


Would I set a World Record for earliest onset of Alzheimer's?


Does this ever happen to you? Even someone you know can become nameless in a single moment.

I struggle to remember names and I find most people struggle with mine. Just today someone called me Mrs. Milhouse and then peered at me strangely when I didn't respond immediately.

This afternoon Mrs. Milhouse reflected on the nameless women of the Bible. Countless women had life-changing interactions with Jesus but are known to the modern world simply as "woman". As I reflected on these encounters, I saw the dusty streets of ancient Israel with Whitney Houston belting, "I'm Every Woman" in the background.

Nameless men and women cross my path each day. I have the opportunity to stop and see them. But do I?

The woman who needs diapers for her newborn.


The man struggling with identity during a season of unemployment.


The girl who hides her worry behind a smile.


Today I will encounter the nameless, the unknown, Jesus' kind of people. I can choose to see. I can choose to bring His grace into their self-condemnation. I can introduce nameless people like me to the Name above all names.

11 comments:

  1. This is thought provoking...being nameless....Yes my brain has fell out many times:)

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    1. Kim, I could never forget your name...it's standard (pun intended!) :)

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  2. Hi Shannon!
    I have noticed this too, there are so many unnamed women in the Bible! Always following and helping along the way. It make me wonder how much I feel the need to be named and noticed. My life is truly created for bringing glory and a name to Christ! It's not all about me but about what I can give out. How I can share His name. Loved, loved your thoughts girl! -Blessings out, Amy

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    1. "My life is truly created for bringing glory and a name to Christ" Love that, girl!

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  3. I love the contrast you've made between nameless women and the name above all names. There is no need to make a name for ourselves when we have His name, is there? Wonderful insight, Sheena. Just kidding. ;-)

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    1. His name is a beautiful gift. I think about how a bride takes the name of her husband. Taking His name is an incredible privilege isn't it?

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  4. Great post, dear lady!
    I am also thankful that I'm not the only one who sometimes forgets a name!
    We all need to remember that name or no name, we all need Jesus.

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    1. "name or no name, we all need Jesus" - so true; His name is great & mighty!

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  5. You have spoken to my heart. Sometimes I find myself spending hours shopping, I get home and realize that I didn't see one face because I was so intent on what was on the store shelves.

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  6. What a thought provoking post. I absolutely loved it. It let me know that I was not the only one that has trouble with names. (I always have) I always wonder what others are up to... how their lives differ from mine... especially when I am driving. To see all the cars on the highway, with their lives inside their car, going from point a to point b.. just like me. God Bless you!

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  7. I have lost my brain! I called a little girl Harper today and her name is Parker. When I realized what I did, I called my daughter by my other daughter's name!! LOL! What a day. Not Your Ordinary Recipes
    Not Your Ordinary Agent

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