Hebrew

Last night, I got really discouraged with my homework. I felt behind and rusty and just overwhelmed. It was taking me at least forty minutes to translate a verse, and then I realized I didn't even have the parsings right. Ugh.

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I have loved Hebrew from the first time I laid eyes on it.

From learning to write the alphabet, to analzying syntax and grammar, I have loved it. Every minute of it (okay, maybe not every minute of it....)

I loved the community that Jamie helped to create in our class. I loved that we sang Psalm 133, about how good and pleasant it is to dwell with brothers. I loved studying like crazy, forming my opinion about how this certain participle was being used and then going to class and arguing for it till I was blue in the face. I love seeing a kid and asking their name and then writing it out in Hebrew for them. I love the smile on their face.

My favorite story about Hebrew: I was with Laura in Provo, Utah at a nursing home. There was this lady there who saw my necklace (it is a charm with the Hebrew symbol for 'life') and wanted to know what it meant. I explained it to her and she was instantly mesmorized. "Will you teach me the Hebrew alphabet?" she asked cautioulsy, gazing up into my eyes. "I would love to," I replied.

She took me to her room, pulled out some paper and crayons and set me to work. As I wrote each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, she asked how to pronounce it. Then she would take the crayon from me and write out a way that she could remember it. I was amazed at how earnest and excited my new student was! So for 'alef' she wrote 'all-if' and so on. It was great.

Finally, after we finished the alphabet, I asked if I could tell her about my favorite Hebrew word. She of course, said yes. I wrote out for her the word 'hesed.' I told her that this word told us about God's love for us, but that it wasn't just any type of love. It was a special love. It is a love that pursues us. It is a love that is stubborn. "Aren't you so glad that God is stubborn in his love for us? That he doesn't give up on us?" I asked. "I am," I said confidently. She was mesmerized.

I hope that this lady saw a true picture of God's love for her that morning. That this helped her to see Him more clearly. I know that somehow God is still stubbornly pursuing this random woman in a random nursing home in a random city.

This is why I study Hebrew.

I can do this, and I can be self-disciplined enough to review the things I need to. I can go over vocab, and re-work my way through the grammar book. I can do this. I want to do this.

I want to create a community like Jamie does. I want to teach people like the lady in the nursing home.

I'm gonna keep working towards it. Even at forty minutes a verse....