discombobulated
This past Sunday I was feeling discombobulated. Did you know that discombobulated is a real word? I remember my dad using it occasionally, but I always thought it was something he made up.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says discombobulated is an adjective used in informal speech. The definition is: characterized by confusion or disorder. It’s first known use was in the 1820s in the northern United States. The word reflects a trend where educated individuals would create new words by combining Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots in a playful way.
The word has no etymological root; its sound was meant to be suggestive of its meaning. Other words coined in the era include confusticate (to confuse or muddle), absquatulate (to leave the room suddenly), and toploftical (arrogant or haughty).
Sunday was an off day for me. We were late getting to church because my son’s Metro train got stuck on the tracks just north of Huntington Station. We got to the Methodist Church’s worship service to run the A/V system, which did not want to cooperate. Someone had unplugged the power cord to screen #2, the tie mic faded in and out, and feedback from the pulpit mic ruptured the eardrums of everyone present.
When it came time for us to start our Baptist service, the list of announcements I’d worked on the night before was nowhere to be seen. I tried to remember what I had to say, but my discombobulation wiped my brain clean. One of the things I had wanted to announce was that Pastor Betsy, from the Methodist Church, would be preaching for me this Sunday. My wife and I will be out of town celebrating our anniversary and Betsy offered to fill in.
“Scientific studies” have suggested that discombobulation can be caused by hunger, lack of sleep, or stress. The quotation marks at the beginning of that last sentence indicate that I just made that up. But I’m pretty sure that statement is true.
I wonder if Jesus ever got discombobulated. Maybe that’s what was going on when he chased out the money changers at the temple. Or maybe he felt discombobulated in the Garden of Gethsemane when he asked God to let the cup of suffering pass over him. Or when he woke up from a deep sleep and didn’t know what day it was. I’m sure he did, because Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. Discombobulation is a part of life. We all experience it from time to time. Fortunately, the Lord gives us a chance to start over the next day. Each day is an opportunity for a new beginning.
