Witness

There are many things I find unpleasant in this world. I find jelly fish, doctor appointments, coconut on desserts and jury duty unpleasant. Nobody likes having jury duty. The minute I was able to vote, I registered. I didn't realize that when you register, it puts your name in the system with a big red flag for jury duty. I have been given jury duty every year since I turned 18. Thankfully I'm a student and can have it waved...now we are clear as to why I don't plan on graduating anytime soon (semi joking). I was in the Legal Studies Academy in high school because I thought I wanted to be a sports and entertainment lawyer. I visited two different jails, our state capital and the White House many times. I argued a court case in front of three appellate court judges and participated in many mock trail cases as the attorney, witness and victim. One of my most favorite experiences was attending an international Model United Nations conference. I was representing Zimbabwe with my friend Chandler. The conference was held in Boston at Harvard and lasted 4 or 5 days. Chandler and I could not wait to go because Mary-Kate and Ashley competed in a MUN conference in their movie "Winning London". We totally thought cute boys were going to compete against us, fall in love and persuade us to move to London. Unfortunately, nobody was attractive and everyone was pretty serious about their treaties, pacts and war threats. Needless to say, the only award we won was a superlative - "hottest delegation". I learned a lot of things while at Harvard: winter coats are a necessity, study pertinent information before you compete internationally and be a keen observer.

While in the academy I had an internship with Gay & Cipriano Law Firm in Virginia Beach. It was a small office with kind and diligent attorneys and staff. I answered phones, filed a lot of paperwork and perfected the classic coffee order. I was able to sit in traffic court a couple times with the attorneys - it was cool for about 2 minutes and then I realized it's the same crimes over and over again...running a stop sign, red light or parking illegally. Sometimes the crimes were a little more crazy like speeding in a school zone or littering while driving. I joke about the "thrills" of traffic court but they all have something in common - someone was observing these things happen. Observations make the world go round. Ever sat down in a mall? Ever looked around at all the people moving 100 miles an hour? It's incredible what you can see happen just by watching.

The devotion for today talks about the word "Amen". This word can be interpreted as an ending phrase common at the end of a powerful message or prayer. It means that Jesus' promises are good, true and trustworthy. In biblical times there were three main rules to witness properly:
1. You had to see it
2. You had to 'truthfully' share what you saw.
3. You had to witness it, so you could share it and have others believe you.

The devotion talks about why we can trust Jesus - Jesus knows God because he is his son. Therefore, Jesus' words must be true and trustworthy. I believe Jesus and I believe God. I don't believe his words for these reasons though. In the Santa Claus 2, Charlie tells Lucy "Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing". Even if I saw God, I don't think I'd believe in him any more or any less. I would still doubt him sometimes - especially when tragedies occur. If we could see him, I think we'd be more disappointed and angry because we'd have someone to actually put blame on. I believe in Him because many unexplainable things have happened throughout the course of my life that lead to a higher being. A year or two after my grandmother passed away, my mom found out she was having another child. While it wasn't in OUR plan, it was in God's. My brother Michael is a piece of my mom that we'll have forever. When we told Michael about my mom's illness - how we were all going to fight and do what we could to make her life the best it could be...we told him the truth. We told him there were many unknowns and that it's easier to accept the worst and hope for a miracle. I remember hugging him so tightly and saying "Michael, you were the best gift she gave us." Michael held onto me tighter and through gasping breaths he said "she was my gift". I don't think I've ever cried harder. I'm sobbing as I'm typing. I guess my point is that we're witnesses to so many of God's gifts and curveballs. We witness court cases as jurers, crazy shoppers in the mall and tragedies take place in our lives and in the media. God is everywhere and in everything - sometimes it's hard to understand and we may never really know why things happen. It's important to make observations and trust what you see/interpret happening. I think it's also equally important to trust in the things you cannot see, like God. God asks us to believe in him without seeing him - in a world filled with facetime, snapchat and instagram it's hard to understand how we could fathom this request. I see God in my prayers, through my loved ones and in the strangers I encounter every day...we see him more than we think we do. We don't see him in the way he's depicted in pictures - but we see him through Christian actions and unconditional love. I hope that through this blog, readers can see how they witness Christ and use their actions to reflect his love. Amen.