delivery

As part of my sabbatical leave (just under one month to go) I have been writing again. The increased flow of bloggages that you have been enjoying / enduring (delete as appropriate) is part of that. I am also working again on a novel that I started a loooong time ago. And I have been writing pomes (sic) again.

In fact the pomery has been going sufficiently well that, in a burst of shameless self-aggrandizement I have decided to publish them in a book. If I am honest, I am not expecting it to become a bestseller, or even much of a seller at all, but the act of publishing the book is a way of producing something tangible from my word-wrangling during my sabbatical. And today the proof* arrives!

Eeek

I confess to being a bit nervous and a bit excited as I wait for the postperson to shove it through the letterbox of our front door – blissfully unaware of the literary significance of the act of delivery. To them it’s just another package delivered.

But to me it’s the arrival of something very personal that I have created. Although the words are mostly not unique to me (I may have created one or two new ones to ensure a rhyme here and there) and are all in general use, I have chosen which ones to use, where to put them, and how to arrange the lines. I have chosen the name of the book and the cover. I can’t wait to see it, to hold it in my hands, and to read it even though I know exactly what’s in it.

It’s something very personal.

I wonder if that’s a tiny bit like how God feels creating us? Psalm 139:13:

“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

How excited did God get waiting for your delivery? Having put us together in the unique way that we’re made, God anticipated the day you were born, and then has been enjoying see you grow and learn and understand more. God yearns for you and relishes you. God already knows exactly what you’re like.

And God loves you so much more than I love my book.

Be blessed, be a blessing.

*in case you don’t know, a proof is a not-for-sale printed copy of the book to ensure that the author is happy with the layout, etc before finally committing to printing that version.