Remembering Names

I am terrible at remembering names.  Actually, I think I'm probably pretty good at remembering names, its the faces I have a problem with.  There are tons of names in my head, I just have a difficult time matching those names to each particular face, which is really the most important part of remembering the names.

I can't tell you how many times I've either called a kid the wrong name, forgotten that I've met the kid, or worse yet, been called out by a kid I call "Hey Dude" when he asks me if I know his name.  That's a terrible feeling - for both of us.

Just came across a post by Donald Miller - Why it Hurts When Somebody Forgets Your Name. A Christian Perspective.  He points out that the real reason it hurts when someone forgets our name is because it reminds us of our broken relationship with our creator.

You and I were designed to be friends with God, to be close to Him, to know Him and be known by Him. God gave mankind freedom to walk away, and man did. So now there is a separation. We are separated from the Deity we were supposed to be in relationship with. Without that love, we trade on each others live, which pales in comparison. When my friend saw that I called him by another name, he was reminded of the relationship he was supposed to be in, and reminded how impotent human love can be. He forgave me, but it’s a sad reminder. It’s even sadder because my friend is one of the most loving, other-person centered people I know, and as an introvert, I’m terrible in comparison.

My Club team uses Facebook as an extremely useful tool for many things, but one of the most helpful features is the picture tagging.  There are tons of pictures posted of our Club & Camp trips and most of those pictures have been tagged by our kids.  We encourage our leaders to take some time to use those pictures as a name quiz.

What do you do to help yourself remember names?