Can I Get an "Amen"?!

Am I alone

Or is it a fairly common occurence for a law student to wake up one morning, half-way through his/her legal education

And ask:

Do I really want to do this with these people for the rest of my life?

Last night my wife was watching Courting Alex, the new Jenna Elfman sitcom on CBS where she plays an uptight attorney. I love Jenna Elfman. But I took one look at the television, looked at my wife, and said

I don't have any desire to watch another show about lawyers ever again.

We all have relatively similar personalities. We are all overly-dramatic, neurotic, tense, and more-often-than-not, risk-averse.

We are -- none of us -- completely balanced, I don't think.

And we will spend the rest of our lives working side-by-side feeding off of each other's insecurities.

I have absolutely no comprehension of why a person would actually want to date, or even worst, marry another lawyer. C'mon, put some balance into your life!

This profession is incredible.

And I am just begining to realize that, while I've wanted to be a lawyer most of my life -- no matter how much of a lawyer I become, acheiving this dream alone is not capable of giving me fulfillment.

I do it now for other reasons.

I also understand now why they give the credit for Law Review membership in a person's third year. Otherwise, I truly believe half of us would be quitting come May. By dangling it like a carrot, we cannot conscionably spend an entire year doing all of this work and then give up the one solid reward we come by as a result -- 4 credit hours.

But I digress . . . to return to my point --

I have always told myself since leaving the ministry that one day I would return. Over the past two years, this silent mantra became, I believe, more a matter of placating my soul than of an actual intention to return to the pulpit.

I left because of youth and a weakness in my character.

I still suffer from youth and an obvious weakness in my character.

But as time goes on, these hurdles can be overcome. And I am growing more and more positive every day that eventually I will return.

I will don my suspenders again, throw off my coat, roll my sleeves up, pull my handkerchief from my pocket, and dab the sweat from my forehead as I roam amongst the pews with both exuberance and solemnity.

I imagine there are still many people who believe the law and the practice of the law can bring all the joy and fulfillment they need in life.

But, man, no matter how much you enjoy it -- this is still work. And a person needs to find something else, something deeper, to be whole . . .