trials

I am back after a long and fun weekend! Saw my favorite bar band Poolstick, you can check them out here. They are amazing! And Jessica, Amy, Paige and I go every time they come to Macon, so they came and introduced themselves to us between sets. They are great guys! They invited us to come see them in Atlanta, which we will definitely have to do.

So the musings of today: it seems like trials can take many different forms. They could be actual trials in the justice system to small hurdles to huge challenges. And sometimes it seems that they just come in succession. One trial ends and another begins. It is like the circle of stress.

As of Friday, I ended one trial in my life. Grad school. That was a bad idea to begin with. I finished two sessions of classes (4 classes total) and decided that online classes are njust not for me. So I quit. I don't really need that Masters anyway. Maybe later in life. So there is one trial out of the way.

Then today starts a bigger trial, an actual trial. The murder trial of Jennifer Ross starts today in Savannah with jury selection. Jenn was my grandlittle in Chi Omega at Mercer. She was shot on Christmas Eve 2005 and passed away a week later on New Years Day 2006. Three men are being charged with her murder. The emotions that come along with this are unlike any I have ever experienced. I am trying to create a balance for myself on how much media coverage I read of the trial. I want to be informed, but I don't want to make myself even more upset. A balancing act. If you want to read the article about jury selection today, click here. The best I can do is hope that justice will prevail. There is a prayer chain to support Jenn's family which I am a part of. I have also written my own prayer that I will be keeping in my pocket and on my desk at work until the verdict is read. Here it is, feel free to use it as your own:

Lord, please put your touch on the Jenn Ross trial today. There are so many things that we can be thankful for leading up to this moment. New friendships and second families, new awareness in Savannah about safety and new awareness in Georgia about trauma centers. The most important is a new perspective for all of us who have been touched by Jenn’s life and by her death. A new perspective on just how precious the life You gave us is and just how quickly it can be taken away. I thank you for what I have learned in the past year. That makes this time even scarier. With everything I have learned, I am still learning how to forgive. I ask your strength to know that I can learn to forgive these people who took Jenn from the people who loved her. I constantly need reminding that judgment and justice does not come from us but only from You. Please guide the trial today: help the judge and jury to be honest and fair, help those who have to testify to do so without fear and to do so honestly. In all aspects of what may occur in that courtroom today, let it reflect You. I pray for justice in whatever form it may take. Give us all the strength to get through this and to hold our heads high. Most importantly, I pray for Coren, Rusty, and Joseph. This is an especially hard time in their lives and nothing that anyone should ever be put through. I pray that you give them the strength and comfort that only comes from your love. Allow us as their friends and family to build them up through these coming weeks. For all of us who have an emotional stake in these proceedings, hold us close as we experience emotions that we may have never felt before. Lord, you are merciful and loving and it is through you that all of these prayers from so many people in the coming weeks will be answered. Amen.

Things I am grateful for today:
1) That prayer has already been comforting today, Day 1 of the trial
2) I get to give the talk at YoungLife club tonight
3) I won a free menu item at Joshua Cup!
4) Veggie Soup from Sid's
5) It is the end of the workday!