In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, as Jack Cade’s gang of comic villains are plotting the overthrow of the king, they discuss the utopia they hope to establish. The outlaw Dick the Butcher advises, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
The line brought down the house.
But today, I salute one new lawyer, and ask God to grant him a long and healthy life free from the machinations of any Dick the Butchers.
My son, Ethan Paul, passed the bar exam today.
When he and his twin brother, Nathaniel, were born, I started a brand new diary to record all of my thoughts as my first sons grew. (I made only one entry before I lost it.)
On the day he was born, I noted that Ethan, unlike his quiet, observant brother, came into the world crying at the injustice of being born. I concluded that he would grow up to become a defender of the injured and a seeker after right.
Throughout his life Ethan’s keen gifts of analysis and argumentation were revealed, as I drove him to summer high school debate institutes from Vermont to North Carolina, and he made his opinion known in family discussions. For two years he won the Maine state debate championship.
And today he passed the bar exam.
Next month he graduates from law school.
And he achieved both of these milestones through his own determination and fortitude, in the face of daunting challenges.
God has blessed me with a wonderful son in Ethan. I pray that His grace and mercy will follow him all the days of his life, and use his gifts to His glory and Ethan’s joy.
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