Dances with Wolves
The first movie my daughter saw-well, "saw" is stretching it a bit since she was just about 8
weeks old-was Dances with Wolves, directed by and starring the multi-talented and prolific,
still-fabulous Kevin Costner. It was my first outing after becoming a new mom, and I was more
than ready to get dressed, eat dinner out, and feel like more than a milk machine for this tiny
human who I felt grossly unprepared to raise.
I'm overstating it a little. I remember perfectly being in my hospital room and the wonder of
holding her in arms, marveling that she actually had the requisite number of fingers and toes.
Maybe it was hormones, but I remember crying and being so grateful for the miracle that this
tiny human was mine and she was perfect! Her pediatrician stopped by, confirmed she was
perfect-noted a little angel kiss birthmark on her shoulder-and I felt more pride and joy than
I'd ever felt before. Angel kiss, indeed! Of course, the angels kissed my baby! And I remember
wondering if another Mary some two-thousand years ago felt the same astonishment as she
counted baby Jesus's fingers and toes. The Son of God and Son of Man should have ten of each,
don't you think? And since we have no record otherwise, I assume He did!
My foray into motherhood, unlike the arduous adventure of Mother Mary, was pretty
uneventful! As I went into labor, the baby's heart rate dropped and the nurses began prepping
me for a c-section. My mother, in the room with me while Jeff took a short break, turned ashen-
faced and trying to be brave for me, excused herself, (later she told me she started praying), and
sent Jeff in. Feeling the pressure, I told the nurses, "I need to push." "No, you don't!" they
laughed, and then I got intense, and stated unequivocably between gasps of breath, "Oh yes I
DO!" and they checked and sure enough... no C section. The doctor walked in and announced,
"I guess we're gonna have this baby!" And so we did!
Fast forward two months, and we're going to the movies! Dances with Wolves was still playing
mid-December after its release in November 1990. We went to a matinee at a local mall, and we
were two of about four people in the theater. Emily got a little fussy, and I discreetly nursed her,
and she went to sleep, and we got to enjoy the entirety of the Academy award winning film!
The cast of characters was amazing, and their names were thoughtful, indicative of their
character or temperament. Lieutenant John Dunbar is named Dances with Wolves after the
Lakota people observe him playing with Two Socks the wolf. The white woman in the Lakota
tribe is Stands with Fists for her defiance and courage; Wind in His Hair is the name of the
loyal warrior who rides like the wind; and Smiles a Lot, for the young native whose winning
smile reveals his easy nature.
Something about that movie must have stuck with Emily! Fast forward nearly two decades, and
Emily was at camp with some friends. One of the girls had packed a brown skirt to wear for the
nightly chapel services, and during Chapel, the guest speaker asked her to come forward for a
demonstration of some kind. Because he didn't know her name, he called out, "You! Girl in
Brown Skirt! Come up here and help!" And Emily quipped, "That must be your Native
American name!" When we look back at the pictures from that time, we marvel at how many of
them record Emily's friend in the brown skirt! She lived up to her name!
In our current His Power at Work Mastermind we've talked quite a bit about identity, and how
knowing your God-given identity, your name, is a key factor in determining what you do and
who you serve. We see this pattern in the life of Jesus. After He was identified by the voice of
God as His "Beloved Son," Jesus went into the marketplace doing what Sons of God do-
healing, giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, casting out demons, feeding
multitudes, and teaching about the Kingdom-and his disciples followed suit.
When Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 4, Peter, filled with the
Holy Spirit, preached to them. "Rulers and elders of the people!" he said. "If we are being
called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being
asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this
man stands before you healed."
Scripture says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were
unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been
with Jesus." Acts 4:13. You might say their native Kingdom names were Men Who've Been
with Jesus.
If I were named for what people saw in me, what would I be called? Some of my top options
might be...
Woman with Scrolling Thumb
Shops with Credit Cards
Snacks All Day and Night
Drops Food on All Her Shirts
Lady Talks Not Walks
None of these observations are spoken with the spirit of condemnation. As I often say to my
husband, this is an observation, not a criticism. As I observe myself, I should be self-aware
enough to note any discrepancy between what I do and who I am, who I want to be, who God
has created me to be. Those false identities do not serve me well, nor equip me to serve others
in the way God has ordained for me, in the "good works which God prepared in advance for me
to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
God spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah, calling them to account for their lack of
genuine worship as demonstrated by how they treated their own people. "On the day of your
fasting," God said, "you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in
quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists...Is that what you call a fast, a
day acceptable to the LORD?" (Isaiah 58:4-5)
They were disconnected from their identity, which led to their moral failure. Do you feel the
reality of it? It's why knowing your identity in Christ is so valuable. Knowing who you are
informs what you do.
Listen to how God speaks through Isaiah about His people when they are who they were created
to be...
11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will
strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never
fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (v. 11-12)
Can you imagine if your name was "Repairer of Broken Walls" or "Restorer of Streets with
Dwellings"? Hey, there's that chick that is the Lover of our Community! Oh, I remember her.
She is the One Who Feeds the Poor. Oh, Look! It's The One Who Never Talks about Other
People. I like her; she is the One who Encourages. Imagine the names people might call you as
they remember you when you are gone. It's a sobering thought, but surely those names are our
"native" Kingdom names. The ones revealed by how we are learning to live as we abide with
Jesus. The ones spoken to us by God and lived out by the power of His Holy Spirit. Christ in
you, the Hope of Glory!
I spent quite a bit of time a couple of years ago debating on the name of my business. Should I
go with my name, Mary Lou Casada, or with Talk & Pray, which is how the idea first came to
me when I began? People in business around me recommended I brand with my own name, and
I considered it carefully. My name is kinda unique...not that many Mary Lou Casadas in the
world. But I felt the caution of my ego, of falling into the trap of thinking what I do is about me.
And I thought about who God has created me to be. Talk and Pray is central to His names for
me: Beautiful Exhorter and She Who Speaks Wisdom. I want to DO what I BE. And as I abide
in Christ, He will empower me to live up to my names. And He will do the same for you!
So what is your Native Kingdom name? You may not have the fancy footwork to be called
Dances with Wolves, nor the attire required to be Girl in Brown Skirt. That's okay. Those are
not your names. Just as Scrolls with Thumbs, or any of the other negative observations of
yourself are false names. God knows and will tell you who you really are! Spend time with Him
asking Him to show you. When you hear Him speak it, you'll be as amazed as I was with
Emily's ten fingers and ten toes, and the scenery and story of Dances with Wolves, and the
sound of Jesus speaking to me. Isn't He good!?
I think I might always be Drops Food on All Her Shirts. God will make use of it somehow. And
I can live with that as long as Jesus lives in me and gives me other names that bring Him glory.
Father,
I rejoice not that the "spirits are subject to me, but that my name is written in heaven." (Luke
10:20) Thank you for creating us and knowing us down to the infinitesimal details of our DNA.
Thank you for speaking to us through Your word and showing us wondrous things that we do
not know. Your presence surrounds us; You are as close as our breath. You knew us when You
formed us in our innermost parts; and we cannot go anywhere that You are not.
Help us walk out the truth of who You've made us. Help us hear You call our name. In the
sweet name above every name, Jesus, the One who is called Faithful and True, we pray, Amen.
