The Story Behind the Name

Chetham's Library, Manchester, London (December 2022)

Author's Name

Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of nicknames. With only four letters, it's hard to get much shorter. People might try to give me other nicknames, but my name just suits me so well that they didn’t often stick.

So when a friend of mine recently tried to give me another name, I assumed the same thing would happen.

He would say a random name or whatever. Perhaps something funny in the moment but easily forgotten. It took him a moment and conversation shifted slightly towards another person. Then all of a sudden he looked me in the eyes and said “Pilar”.

When he said that, something on the inside of me resonated with it. I felt a rocked to my core. As I thought, the moment passed with little actual usage of the nickname. However, unlike in the past, I couldn’t shake the name out of my head.

I decided to look up what it means. In Spanish, the name often refers to the Virgin Mary. However, the meaning that stood out to me is pillar (of strength).(1) The verse that came to mind fitting this name is Proverbs 31:25, “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”(2) What I take this to mean is God is calling me to be a woman who walks in strength and dignity and who has so much faith in Him that I can laugh and have joy in different situations.

Being a woman of strength is a part of my identity that I don’t think I had come to terms with before. However, it’s a part of me that I want to embrace in the days ahead. Which is why I have chosen it as my pen name for this blog. I hope you will join me in this journey of discovering our God given strength and hope for the future!

Blog's Name

Currently, I have the privilege to be a sojourn in Spain. For those unfamiliar with the term, a sojourn means “a temporary stay or to stay as temporary resident.”(3) I do not have permanent residency here and so as I tell mine and others stories about living and traveling abroad I felt the name suited well.

However, at the point I am in a country where I am no longer a temporary resident, I believe the name will continue to hold significance. As I believe we are all temporary residents on this earth. I am reminded of Hebrews 11:8-10. Here, the author mentions how Abraham "was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God."(4) I believe this verse alludes both to the city of David in the Old Testament as well as to our eternal home in Heaven. As Christians many of us know that through believing in Jesus we will have eternal life. (5) Through this eternal life we know our journey continues after death. Another verse that alludes to our eternal home with Jesus is John 14:2-3. The verse states, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.”(6) Therefore, in the end we are all temporary residents of this earth.

We are here for a season, a passage of time, before we continue to our eternal place with the Father in Heaven. While here, we have the opportunity to learn, encourage, and strengthen one another while also chasing God. This is my hope with A Sojourner's Journey. I want this blog to be a place that teaches, encourages, and strengthens other beliefs in their walk while also sharing mine and others journeys. I want to share our stories of the way God is moving here in our temporary homes. So I hope you will join me on this sojourn’s journey through God’s beautiful creation called earth.

Endnotes

1. https://babynames.com/name/pilar

2. Proverbs 31:25 (NIV)

3. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sojourn

4. Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)

5. John 3:16 (NIV)

6. John 14:2-3 (NIV)