crown of joy

A few months ago, I did a presentation with Barbara at the Church Women United's May Friendship Day. After the program, a couple came up to me and shared that they had been through the United Methodist mission programs near the time they had been founded. They met at their training and fell in love; they were then separated for 3 years while one was a J-3 and the other a P-3, going to Japan for 3 years and the Philippines for 3 years, respectively. After they came back, they were married within two months. It's a story fit for cinema.

This is one of the meaningful parts of being a US-2: meeting those who participated in my program in the past, receiving their encouragement, and  having the opportunity to hear their stories and where their journeys took them.

This couple in particular had a special connection to me.

"We named our daughter Stephanie, too. Of course she's older than you."

I smiled. "It's a good name."

"Yes, we picked it out because it means 'crown.' And her middle name was "Joy", so she was "Crown of Joy."

I stared at them a moment and then repeated, "Your daughter's name is Stephanie Joy?"

"Yes--is that--?"

"But that's my name."

I can't describe in words what an intimate and meaningful moment this was. The husband had tears in his eyes, and his wife said, "You must be your parents' crown of joy, too."


This is just one of the many special connections I have experienced since beginning my journey as a US-2. Though I have met other people named Stephanie, and other people with the middle name Joy, I've never actually met anyone else named Stephanie Joy. Crown of Joy. Though I have known that my name means "crown" or "crowned one" for many years, somehow I never thought about my name's meaning in its entirety. Crown of Joy.

I think one of the reasons I have thought about joy so deeply is because it is part of my name, and I am ever trying to live up to my name. This is not always easy, particularly when I forget that it will not be possible apart from God. I have already written a post with some thoughts on the nature of joy, but I am still pondering what it means to be a crown of joy, and perhaps I always will.