Some Trips Have Rough Starts

By Gobel Brockman


I have an unusual first name. I've spent my entire life having it misspelled and mispronounced. Any time someone asks me my name for the first time and I tell them "Gobel," I can almost guarantee you what their next question is going to be: "What's your first name?" That's just one part of the story of my first few days on this earth. I will try to be brief:

*I was told that the doctor who delivered me had just came off of a five-year ban of his obstetrics privileges, and I was the first baby he had delivered after his time was served. The story went that he came in to deliver a baby one night drunk and slapped the mother for "screaming too much."

*The name "Gobel" came from my dad – it was his first name as well. He never liked it, and always said that none of his sons would ever have that name. The story I was told was that both of my parents were expecting a girl (this was before the days of ultrasounds) and they were not prepared with a boy's name. The discussion over this subject lead to an argument, which ended with my dad storming out of the hospital room saying, "Name him whatever you want!" So my mother took his advice, and I've been "Gobel" ever since.

*I came home from the hospital on my third day. Within a few hours someone (I won't mention my brother's name) accidentally overturned the bassinet I was laying in, breaking my collarbone.

What is my point in all of this? Things got off to a bit of a rough start for me. Delivered by a doctor with the proven tendency to drink and inflict the occasional "Drive-by slapping." Causing an argument between my parents mere moments after being born, and getting an unusual name in the process. Coming home from the hospital just long enough to get a broken bone. 

Rough starts. We've all had them. Perhaps at a new job, or the beginning of a new relationship. Starting something new can be a stressful time, because you never really know what to expect. The journey of faith in Jesus Christ is no different. The experience is described in John three is being "born again" and that is a perfect description. Everything is new, everything is fresh. But everything is also different. The Bible says in II Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ they are a new creature, old things pass away and all things become new. It's an incredible time, but it can also be a scary time.

Those of you reading this who have been Christians for years can attest to what I am saying. To any of you who are new in your "faith journey," let me tell you that there can will some interesting times ahead of you. Times of uncertainty, times of worry and doubt, and times where you're going to want to walk away entirely. When those times come notice I didn't say it I just know that the rough patches are temporary. There is nothing you will encounter on this journey that is worth doing a U-turn and going back to your old life. Don't do it.

One last thing – the name "Gobel" is a German name. One variation of it means, "Boldness from God." I haven't disliked my name since the day I learned that. As a believer, you have a new name as well – "Christian." It means "Christlike."

Embrace your new name - no matter how many times you have to explain it.