What kind of name is that?

"What kind of name is that?"
"Oh, that's.....interesting."
"THAT'S her actual name?"

Riot
1. A violent disturbance of peace by a crowd.

This is what some people think when they hear the word riot. They picture fights, strikes, and outrage. Too long have I felt guilty for not picking a name after a Biblical heroine or gentle attribute. I could have named her Amariah, which means promised by God, or Aria, which means song or melody. There have been so many times that people have cringed when hearing that I named my daughter Ryot. But have they seen the second definition of the word?

Riot
2. An impressively large or varied display of something.

Have you met my little girl? She is definitely an impressively large AND varied display of something, alright. There is no doubt about that.

She is passionate, about everything. She gets passionately excited, passionately helpful, passionately angry, passionately sad. There is no ounce of apathy in her spirit. She is hilarious. She seeks out ways to make people laugh, when she knows them. She rarely walks anywhere we go because she is too busy dancing or jumping or skipping or running. Her energy is exceptionally high but her focus is deep and intense. Her dreams are vivid, colorful, and detailed. She doesn't need friends to validate her, she knows she is a princess soldier simply by being herself. She is busy with ideas, stories, and questions flowing constantly, but often stops to watch bugs crawl by or smell flowers that we pass. She is beautiful from the adorable freckles on her nose to her huge feet. She is a masterpiece of design and color.

When I was pregnant with her, I prayed that she would be fierce, independent, confident, assertive, passionate, and everything else that I could think of that I thought I was failing in. I would beg God not to make my sweet baby like me. God always answers prayers in His wisdom. It's the only way He can answer prayers because that is who He is. So because He is always good and He delights in answering the requests of His kids, God made my little girl fierce, independent, strong, confident, and feisty to her core. He was also so kind in His wisdom to show me that all the things I prayed for Ryot to be were not things that I had failed in, but attributes that I had let be stifled in me or that I had not discovered yet. He was confirming that all of the attributes that I so desperately wanted for Ryot were gifts that he had given me that had been buried through life experiences, and relational heart breaks throughout me upbringing.

As I watched Ryot's personality form, I saw all of the possibilities of what she could accomplish and be, and Jesus so softly spoke truth over my life that was being reflected through my little miracle. I don't think I truly realized my potential of being resilient, independent, and strong until I survived being a single mom. Those are some of the hardest days of my life, but I see such goodness in them. And Jesus protected my little one by giving her such a strong, resilient heart. I tried my hardest to make sure she didn't miss a thing or even know that we were struggling. I'm hoping that she won't remember those sad, tired days, but instead will remember quality time, long walks, and precious alone moments we had during that time.

There is always more pages in someone's story than you realize.

It used to really bother me when someone would criticize her name, but now I just smile in confidence. Because it's not just a name.

Ryot is my sour patch kid, my miracle baby, my sweetness.
Ryot is a story of the best kind of love; sacrificial love of a good, good Father to His precious children.
Ryot is an embodiment of fiery passion that will one day change the world.
Ryot is an impressively large and varied display of beauty, creativity, passion, and the endless possibilities that come with saying yes to a perfect, loving Creator.

She's mine. And that makes me proud.