Smiles, Hugs and Prayers: Faith in the Courtroom

This post is second of a three-part miniseries based on my jury duty experience.
See part one here
and part three here. 

As you may know, I spent the last two weeks doing jury duty. It was an amazing learning experience for quite a few reasons.
Yesterday I wrote about the lessons from getting an in-depth look at our justice system. Not surprisingly, God took this opportunity to teach me a few other lessons, too.

The day I found out I was a juror--and what the case was about--I was honestly kind of scared. "Why me? Why did I get chosen? I don't think I can do this!" I discovered, of course, that I could. My husband had some encouragement for me, and so did my mom, when I called to tell her that I was on the jury (although without any other details at that point).

Obviously, my mom said, I was chosen for a reason. God had a purpose for me to be on that jury. There had been 71 potential jurors at the start. 30 were randomly chosen by taking names out of a jar. Then 14 were picked from those 30. Just before we started deliberation, two alternates were dismissed. I ended up on that jury of twelve people.

I was definitely there for a reason. I just didn't know exactly what the reason was. I still don't know for sure. But I started praying right away, "Lord, let me show someone your love through this experience."

One of the defendant's daughters was there with him, to testify and to support her father. Her name is Maria.

I thought, I can at the very least try to bring a little happiness into this woman's life, considering how incredibly difficult her life has been for the last three years. So every now and then, from the juror's box, I'd catch her eye and give her a smile, and she always smiled back. Not a huge gesture, I know, but I wanted to do something.

Yesterday, after everything was over and I was headed out of the courthouse and home, I ran into Maria just outside the courthouse. She threw her arms around me and kept repeating "Thank you, thank you." She said that when she saw me the first day of the trial she liked me right away. (She happens to have a sister just about my age.) I told her that I'd been praying through the whole trial, and that I knew it had turned out the way it had because God had wanted it to turn out that way. She said she and her family had been praying as well, and I said that I would continue to keep her and her family in my prayers. "God bless you," she said, hugging me again, both of us teary.

I don't know what will become of Maria, her father, and their family. I don't know if anything will come of our brief conversation. I do know that it wasn't coincidence that she happened to be outside the door I always left through. I know that it wasn't coincidence that I ended up on this jury. I also know that that one conversation made the whole two weeks' trial (pun intended) absolutely worth it. If sharing the love of Jesus with that one woman, through smiles, hugs, and prayers, was the reason God had me on that jury, then it was worth every minute.

I got to shake her father's hand, not fifteen minutes after the verdict was read and he put his head down on the desk and burst into tears, then looked up at the jury with a red, tear-streaked face that expressed joy and relief that no language barrier can confuse, and told us "thank you."

I'll probably never see Igor Kozlov again, but being a jury for his trial has changed my life. I can't judge anyone one way or another based on their nationality, their appearance, their job, the language they speak. Only God can judge a person because only he sees the hearts of humans. But what I can do is love everyone with the love of Christ, no matter who they are.

A few hours before I was chosen for this jury, I wrote this post. Little did I know how prophetic my own words would be! God doesn't ask us to travel far away to share his love. In this case, all I did was walk across the street and into a courtroom, and I was privileged to share the love of Jesus with people I never would have met otherwise.

Keep your eyes open today. You'll definitely cross paths with someone who needs a little Christ-love in their lives. Maybe all you can give them is a smile, but maybe that's all it will take to make a difference in their life.



(Just in case you were wondering, sympathy wasn't an aspect of my decision-making regarding this trial. I avoided looking at Kozlov as much as I could during the trial. We looked at the straight facts, and there weren't enough solid facts to convict him. But I will say, I'm glad that we made the decision we did. This man is still going to have a tough life, and I'm happy that we made a decision that will make his life a little less hard than it could have been.)


Linking today with Upward Not Inward/Exceptionalistic/The Fontenot Four, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Twenty-two lessons in twenty-two years

Today I'm turning twenty-two.  It's not a particularly exciting birthday, like eight years from now will be (gee, am I really going to be thirty in only eight years??).  However, I like even numbers, and I like symmetry, so 22 is a good number.

I've learned a lot in 2.2 decades.  Most of these lessons have been things I've come to understand fairly recently, but they're all a result of experiences throughout my life.  I thought it might be fun (and a bit of a challenge) to come up with twenty-two worthwhile things I've learned about life, relationships, and myself.  Can you relate with any of these?  It can't be just me!

1)  Don't make snap judgments about people.  Some people you might not like much at first but later you'll become friends, and some people who seem cool when you meet them really aren't.

2) Never hold a grudge.  It's not healthy for you and it doesn't affect the other person much anyway.

3) Learn to laugh at yourself.  You do goofy things, and you'll be happier if you can see the humor in those things.

4) Avoid assuming (although do try to assume the best about your spouse as much as possible).  We all know what happens when you ASSUME.  Yeah.

5) Learn to not take things so personally.  Not everything is about you!

6) Appreciate when people listen to you, and learn to listen to others.  They have a lot to teach you.

7) Learn to forgive yourself.  Guilt is not a burden you need to bear; Jesus destroyed it on the cross.

8) Try new things.  You might find you like some things you swore you never would (like country music!).

9) Dance at every wedding.  It's a win-win: you get to flirt with your husband, and show off your sweet swing-dancing skills.

10) Don't be afraid of what people think about you.  The opinions of most people don't matter, and you're defined by being a child of God, not by other people's opinions.

11) Embrace opportunities to make new friends.  Cultivate those relationships while you have the opportunity (before you move or they graduate from college).

12) It's okay to have several "best friends."

13) Get to know people of a variety of ages: your age, younger than you, and older--sometimes much older--than you.  Children bring so much joy to life, and you can learn a lot from older people.

14) Always lick the spoon.

15) Don't beat yourself up over mistakes.  Everyone makes from them.  Take note of the lesson you've learned and move on.

16) It's okay to cry and not know why.

17) You'll always need your mom.

18) Face your fears.  That's the easiest way to conquer them.

19) On second thought, just don't be afraid.  Fear is of the Enemy.  You are a child of God and the Holy Spirit lives in your heart; you have no reason to fear anything!

20) Judge sin, not people.  You don't want to turn into a Pharisee; you just want to be like Jesus.

21) Don't focus on the future; instead, have an eternal mindset.  What's going to matter after this life is over?

22) Leave the worrying about everything to God.  Worrying does no good, and only steals joy, contentment and happiness.  There is always something to be thankful for; focus on that instead of whatever is worrying you.

What are some of the most important/useful/funny life lessons you have learned?  Share in the comments!