Do you know the word snippet? Is it even a word? Merriam-Webster doesn’t list it in their 61/2 by 9 2 inch thick Newly Revised and Updated edition of Dictionary and Thesaurus.
I was considering making PERSONAL SNIPPETS a regular feature of maxiedunnam10 (my Facebook Page). I wanted to share brief accounts of current or past personal experiences. Though I thought it was the right word, I began to wonder if snippet is even a word. If you are going to “go public” speaking and writing, don’t be discounted because you are not using right or real words.
So I went to my ever present Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus. Down the column I went: snip, snipe, snippy, snips. But no snippet. A snip is a fragment snipped off, and as a verb, to snip is to cut off by bits. That definition encouraged me a bit because of the word fragment; what I intended to share was “fragments” of my life experiences.
Sometimes I’m tenacious, especially if I like something. Maybe another dictionary would have my word, snippet, but who would doubt Merriam-Webster? I didn’t have another dictionary in my study, so I went looking elsewhere.
Jerry (my wife) and I play a word game, Quiddler, and I knew we kept a dictionary, near the table were we play. There it was, Webster’s New World Dictionary. Not Mirriam-Webster, but Webster’s. Could it be? I found the column quickly:
Snip, snipe, and there it was snippet, a small piece or scrap of information.
So I’m on track; without reservation, I’m going to share some personal snippets. Here’s the first.
Often, in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep, I will spend time in memory. One of the most frequent is going back to my teen years at home with my mother and father. Often, after supper, we would sing together the songs we knew by heart because they were sung often in the little country Eastside Baptist Church where they were faithful members.
A few nights ago, as I was remembering and singing in my mind, Revive us Again. I could remember the chorus and only one stanza.
Revive us again fill each hear with your love;
May each heart be rekindled with fire from above.
Hallelujah, Thine the glory: Hallelujah, Amen.
Hallelujah, Thine the glory; Revive us again.
Out of that came the prayer I’m praying often every day:
Loving Father, fill my heart with your love,
Rekindle my soul with fire from above. Amen.
You may want to join me in that prayer, if you long for revival as I do.