Word Study

Through His recent, gentle command to rise, I am again reminded of one of the most insightful teachers I ever had the privilege with which to study.  She owns my respect as this woman excites in me an adrenaline pang of abject fear accompanied by the simultaneous desire to sit at her feet and bathe in her wisdom.   I never know for certain if she will smack me or hug me, and her lessons always stretched me to the tippy-toes of my fledgling understanding of content.  A most mighty and majestic oak, she evidences the conviction that a concept cannot be studied if one does not understand the terminology.  She is rattlesnake quick to distinguish between a scientist’s operational definition of terms (that tell the reader what a word or phrase means for the purpose of a study) and a word study.  She exalts that all connotations, denotations, derivations, and cultural contexts must be sifted before any idea can be fully understood.  Her insistence on this process often bring to mind Heinlein’s Valentine Michael Smith, the prophet who calls his brothers to wait in fullness in order to grok.  This woman teaches many;  she is one diva of groking in fullness, and I am also convinced she’s got a Batphone to the Throne.

By the way, I know she’d slap me if she knew I distilled her most empirical and rigorous Word Study process down to the science fiction term grok, but Baby, truth is what it is, and that teacher, water brother mine, groks, and bids me to do the same.

Recent process here prompts me again to apply her word study model to grok in fullness.

As such, one of my strategies when I attempt to get my head around a new pattern or idea is to study the antonyms of the concept.  I actually like to turn my journal upside down when I do this as a visual reminder to consider it from the opposite perspective.  I wish I could type upside down, but I don’t even have to ask The Husband to know that that would get the big technology veto.  He would also certainly argue that it would make it too hard for you to read, thus building a division between us when what I seek if communion.   If, however, you wanted to pretend I was typing upside down starting now, that would be great.

Term: broken

Definition: (abridged from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broken)

1 shattered
2 damaged, altered, irregular, violated, disrupted
3 made weak, subdued, crushed, sorrowful, bankrupt, reduced
4 cut off, disconnected, imperfect
5 incomplete
6 disunited

Antonym: whole

1 intact
2 original, pristine, revered, continuous, regular
3 made strong, supported, lifted, joyful, rich, maximized
4 networked, connected, perfect
5 complete
6 united

These inversions pull the brakes on the runaway express of my busy brain.

Earth bound, I have one spiritual quest, to lift my voice in love to Him that made me.  With dirt on my feet and salt on my face, the best I can offer from here is a broken Hallelujah.

However, He meets me in my broken spaces right where I am, and stirs my soul with Victory.   He bathes my offering with Grace, and returns to me a

Holy Hallelujah

an intact song,
pristine love,
restored wholeness,
vintage freedom,
pristine mercy,
revered hope,
continuous strength,
unconditional support,
lifted confidence,
joyful healing,
rich communion,
maximized potential,
fellowship networked,
holy dove connection,
perfect peace,
complete unity

He offers my Hallelujah a new identity and restoration because He not only hears my imperfect Praise with delight, He celebrates me back with perfect Love.

And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah!