something new :)

tonight i participated in my first oral argument. 


i was arguing the side of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School against a professor i'm ta'ing for, who was representing the side of Cheryl Perich, a former teacher for the school. the case was recently heard by the us supreme court and concerns whether and to what the degree the government can be involved in church employment issues. if you're interested you can fine a basic summary here. 


so besides being a really interesting case i also had a few thoughts.


1. the role of an attorney vs. the role of a judge. i'm not exactly sure how to describe this without making it too confusing but i'm going to try. (thanks for bearing with me!) this past semester i've had the opportunity to watch mock trial and appellate competitions and a utah supreme court decision. and the thing i've noticed--a pattern--is how incredibly dedicated attorneys are to defending their side/their client. this may seem obvious--of course they would be committed to their client; it's their job. but i guess it seems significant to me when i'm watching a person or partners continue to hold to their side, even when they know (or in my head i'm thinking they must know) their arguments are wrong/flawed. maybe it's bc they don't have a good case or maybe they just don't have good arguments, but it doesn't phase them. attorneys will defend their side until the end. at first i thought maybe it was a pride thing--people care about winning and looking good, so they won't budge even when they know they're losing. they won't admit the other person is right; they just stubbornly defend their side.


BUT--tonight, and i think also during the past competition, i saw things differently. tonight i realized it is a noble thing to defend someone, even if you don't agree with them. crazy right. i used to disagree. i thought i would NEVER put myself in a situation where i had to defend someone i didn't believe in. but i just see things really differently now, and maybe my perspective will continue to grow and change. that seems likely. but the thing i have come to see is an attorney's job is not to be influential in the way maybe we expect to be, or i expected it to be. at least i know i was thinking maybe by being an attorney i can help have an influence in various issues i care about by presenting a case so well--yada, yada, yada. but i don't think that's it anymore. at least, i don't think that's the main goal. rather, i think an attorney's calling is to take care of what he's been given--his client. and it is the judge's role, not ours, to take the arguments and to come up with a decision of how things will be. i don't know if that makes sense (sometimes i don't explain things well, especially things that i'm just starting to think about), but i just feel like there's something to everyone working together, and i think sometimes the way we BEST work together is by knowing our roles and doing them--giving our best--and especially not trying to do each other's roles. i just think of an orchestra. every instrument is different and has a different role in a piece. some are stronger than others, maybe more influential, and it's when everyone is focusing on what they've been given--their part--that there is this beautiful synergy and unity of sound. like a masterpiece. and just bc i think we should all stick to our roles i'm not saying nor do i think that there's absolutely no room to move around or that we can't change roles--i think of it more like there's a time and a season for everything, and as an attorney our time and season is dedicated to our clients. and i also don't think what we do is so defining. it is what we do, but it is not necessarily who we are. anyway, i hope that made sense! i thought it was a great discovery tonight. :)


the other thing i thought about is...


2. i am so excited to be an attorney. weird. i never would've imagined myself saying those words and actually having it feel so right. and all i can say is i am grateful to the lord. AMAZING. he knows us PERFECTLY; and he sees the end from the beginning. no matter how many hard times or discouraging moments we go through, it is so inspiring and encouraging to see the lord CONSTANTLY guiding my life. the lord has taught me so much in the past year, but one thing i have come to see more and more is he has a plan for us. and as we're trying to figure out what to do with ourselves or our lives--where to live, what to do, who to date and later marry, it seems that as long as we are keeping his commandments and honoring our covenants and coming unto christ (not by being perfect or even being our "best" (see brad wilcox's talk "his grace is sufficient"), but by simply exercising our faith and repenting, which in some cases may just involve us trying to move forward), as long as we do that i believe there is NOTHING we can do that will ruin our chances to receive everything he has in store for us--every blessing and every kind of joy he has prepared. so often i think we worry--i know i do--about these decisions, and we think if we choose the wrong one and we should've chosen another one, well then too bad. but i just don't feel it's like that! the lord has shown me time and time again, that sometimes it's like he almost doesn't matter what choice i make, as long as i make a choice, and even if i make a choice that puts me in the wrong place, somehow i end up being in the right place. so it's like i either choose the right place or the wrong place, but either way, as i am seeking and yearning for good things the lord always has a way of helping things to happen as they should. 


well that was very long. but i'm glad to write. :)


christmas is coming! yaaaaaaay! i love christmas~~~~~~ :)