TO DO JUSTLY AND TO LOVE MERCY

Last night we attended the investiture of a judge. His office is by our church, and he's a friend. It was a nearly two hour ceremony. You'd have thought he was Mr. Perfect hearing all the wonderful things his colleagues said about him, from how much he's helped people his entire career to what a fabulous family man he is. He's also a devout Jew, and amazingly several scriptures were quoted by various people, including a rabbi. This rabbi spoke in Hebrew at times and gave the patriarch's blessing found in the Bible. Another scripture was Micah 6:8 about doing justly. In fact, they said the judge chose this passage to read when he was 13 at his bar mitzvah.

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

I was deeply touched by all the fine things said about this man. Obviously, he will make a superb judge who has lots of compassion and wisdom.

Afterward, we were invited to the judge's reception at a fancy hotel on the river. Very nice.

But while we were at the investiture, the opening lines of my novel came to me. The back of the program was blank, so I wrote away. I had been praying and asking the Lord all day to show me how to start this off. See, in novel writing, nothing's in concrete until it appears in a published book. I had written the opening lines, in fact, the opening chapter, in fact, 5,000 words one day last week, and then almost 2,500 last Saturday. I thought things were set. But they're not. I'm changing my first chapter for a good reason. I'm hoping to hook the reader even more in this new chapter.

But back to the "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God," I think my protagonist did that in the highest sense. She chose the right over wrong, she had mercy, and her walking humbly with God gave her the strength to overcome her trials.

I think that's a good admonition for couples: do justly (that which is right), love mercy (be willing to forgive when you've been wronged), and walk humbly with your God (dual: serve the Lord, and, have a humble attitude not a know-it-all one).

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I figured my post yesterday was pretty "fun" (about power naps and how they can benefit you) so I didn't do a Fun Friday today.