In recent years God has taken us on a journey we never expected. If you have been reading here for a while, you know that we used to be in ministry full time. But then God took us out of ministry and placed Will on a much different career path.
In 2016 Will began working as a paralegal for our local County Attorney's office. He started law school in the fall of 2017. The years of law school were challenging in ways far beyond what we expected. It was a long, hard marathon for the whole family, and especially for Will. I am so proud of Will and impressed with all he was able to accomplish. Will graduated first in his class from Mitchell-Hamline in December of 2021. In July of 2022 he took the bar, and in October we received the news that he had passed. I cried tears of joy and relief that the law school journey was behind us at last!
Earlier this month Will was sworn in as an attorney in the state of Minnesota. What a joyous day this was! Somehow I failed to ever blog about law school and the challenges we faced, but I want to make sure to not miss this wonderful milestone event, so today I want to share a few pictures with you from that special day.
We went to the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul for Will's Admission Ceremony. Will has been here for work numerous times over the past seven years, and it was wonderful to get to bring the whole family here together for the ceremony.
The Capitol is a beautiful building!
The ceiling is spectacular!
My parents were able to be here for the ceremony. They were a tremendous help to us throughout Will's time in law school. Will's course was primarily online, but he did have week-long classes in St. Paul, Minnesota once a semester for the first three years. When Will had to be gone for a week, my parents would come up from Georgia and help me with cooking, laundry, shopping, and taking care of the kids. I don't know how we would have survived those weeks without my parents! They were a big part of the law school journey for us, and I'm glad they could be there for the celebration at the end of it all.
We had several friends who came as well. Pictured here are Gary and Jeanie Willford. Mr. Willford was one of our professors during our time in Bible college. He was also the one who performed our wedding ceremony nearly 20 years ago! It was so special to have them both there.
"Laws can discover sin, but not remove it." - Milton
As we walked down the hall to the courtroom, there were many plaques on the wall that had quotes about justice and the law. I especially liked the middle quote on this one. It reminded me of Romans 7:7, "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.'"
I held the Bible while Will was sworn in as an attorney. He chose to use the Bible that our church in Georgia gave him at his ordination. In his oath, he said:
I, William Charles Lundy, do swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Minnesota and will conduct myself as an attorney and counselor at law in an upright and courteous manner to the best of my learning and ability with all good fidelity as well to the court as to a client and that I will use no falsehood or deceit nor delay any person's cause for lucre or malice, so help me God.
Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Gordon Moore was the one to perform the Admission Ceremony.
Minnesota Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson showed up as a surprise at Will's Admission Ceremony. After Will was sworn in, Justice Anderson shared a history of the courtroom and the artwork on the walls.
The road to this day was long and hard. It was over seven years ago when we first began to discuss the possibility that Will might need to go to law school. The end seemed so far away. Taking the LSAT and applying to law schools took over a year. Law school itself took four and a half years. And then preparing for the Bar took more months of studying. Will persevered faithfully through it all.
We couldn't have done it without the help of friends and our local church. Our church helped us during Will's years of law school and Bar prep. Will often didn't have time or energy to cook, so a team of ladies from our church brought meals twice a week while school was in session. Having meals ready to go was a great help to all of us.
Friends helped with childcare when Stafford was a baby and I was unable to care for him by myself in the mornings. My parents came to help frequently, and my sister came to help as well. She even took emergency leave from work when we suddenly needed full-time help for a while.
During the years of law school Will worked full time as a paralegal, then a law clerk, and then a student attorney. God added two more children to our family. I had my usual chronic illnesses that make life challenging. Will even had health challenges of his own that resulted in a week-long stay in the hospital and a delay in finishing law school. It is astounding to look back over all we have been through in the last seven years.
We made it through by the grace of God. And we are still here, still a happy family, and still serving the Lord where He has placed us. I am excited to see what lies ahead for our family and for Will as an attorney!
No comments:
Post a Comment