The Trial is over!

And I have been convicted.

Isaiah 58
True Fasting
1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Last night, at approximately 12:57am, I finished the Novel. Not some nambypamby, its done but I still need to work on it for another year, completion... I'm talking finished. Finito. Done!

I saved all my back up copies and played my last game of Freecell, then I wrote down the stats (Over 2000 wins!) and cleared the game. I wanted to start over with Freecell on the next novel. I was making a clear break. The Novel was done.

I got up from my computer after I had turned it off and crossed over to my room and sat on my bed. I was stunned. A mixture of surprise and elation filled me. Though I had seen this moment for more than three years, I don't think I ever believed I would actually get there. And then, I just realized what I had accomplished and my heart soared and my brain exploded in applause and I could feel my ego expanding like a carnival game balloon.

As it was one in the morning, however, I knew I had to go to work in the morning and I hadn't yet done any of my evening routine. I turned immediately on my bed and grabbed my Bible for reading. I wondered vaguely if I'd be able to concentrate on God's words now that I was the author of a completed book. I said a quick silent prayer, "God, please burst my bubble. Let me know that this is truly over and remind me where I really stand." And then I opened the Bible to my usual spot and read the first verses of Isaiah 58.

Tears welled in my eyes as I read the convicting words. God was truly reminding me of where my novel sat in the larger scheme of things. He had answered my prayer directly, and forcefully, and His words pierced my soul.

So, the trial is over, and I have been found guilty - guilty of neglect, guilty of self-indulgence, guilty of indifference. I will put the Novel aside for a while and begin the new phase of my life. It is done. But thankfully, I am not.