The last place on earth I ever thought I’d catch a glimpse of heaven would be at a graduation ceremony. But that is exactly what I experienced recently. Once you hear my story I’m hoping you’ll be on the lookout for your own glimpse of heaven. They’re more common than we realize.
But before I begin, I’m John Certalic, and you are listening to episode 231 of You Were Made for This, the podcast about enriching our lives by reflecting the character, image, and likeness of God in our relationships. It’s what we were made for. We were made for this.
My story revolves around the recent graduation of my grandson, George. I attended his previous graduations, from kindergarten, elementary school, high school, college and now law school.. And I’m eager to tell you about it because I spotted a glimpse of heaven at his latest one.
An image problem
As long as I can remember, the legal profession George is entering has had an image problem. We make fun of personal injury lawyers, calling them “ambulance chasers” with large, cheesy billboards advertising their services.
We have disparaging jokes about lawyers that call into question the honesty and integrity of attorneys. Here are a few:
What's the difference between a lawyer and a used-car salesman?
The used-car salesman knows when he's lying
A lawyer and an honest man are standing side by side. How can you tell which is which?
The honest man doesn't bill you for standing there.
How does an attorney sleep?
First, he lies on one side, then he lies on the other.
We don’t have jokes like this about other professions. When was the last time you heard a joke about a dentist, accountant, or welder, or countless other careers?
A different perspective
Yet at our grandson’s law school graduation, I experienced a different take on the profession from the speeches that were given. They each had an element of a pep talk to the graduates.. One spoke of the privilege and responsibility of helping clients find justice when wronged. Another talked about the importance of defending the principles – and brilliance – of the US Constitution. To continue to uphold and champion what our founding fathers crafted hundreds of years ago.
Still another speech sang the praises of the legal profession’s long-standing tradition of lawyers doing pro bono work for people with limited resources to pay for legal help. “Pro bono” is short for the Latin phrase pro bono publico, meaning “for the public good.”
I’m not aware of other professions offering their services at no cost for the public good. Funeral directors, hair stylists, or food truck operators don’t do it, but the legal profession does.
The thread that tied all these speeches together was something along the lines of, Graduates, you are entering a noble profession. You are part of history and are taking on a role that helps make the world a better place. Congratulations for making this life choice.
But as inspiring as all these speeches were, the one that gave me a little glimpse of heaven were the remarks given by the graduate picked by his classmates to represent them and their perspective on this most important event in their lives.
The class representative speaks
He spoke about the difficulty of making it through law school, of the sacrifices he and his classmates made to accomplish this goal. Family events that were missed in order to study for exams or complete projects. Time away from friends was all part of the cost The competition for good grades and the best job offers. All hard stuff.
.But he also recounted a number of inside stories that made his classmates laugh. His reference to an obscure legal case they all studied from the 18th century about who owned a dead fox, written in the most obtuse legal language imaginable from another century drew the largest laugh. An inside joke they all appreciated.
The tone of his remarks was,
It’s ben much harder than we ever imagined when we started. We often wondered if we were going to make it. But in the midst of all our difficult challenges, there were also moments of joy. Largely because we did it together. We bonded in community with one another. Adversity and challenges brought us together, and, you know, it was worth it. It really was.
When her finished, you could feel a giant collective exhale in the auditorium.
Law school mirrors life for the rest of us
The brief remarks of this graduate gave me another glimpse of heaven. What he said about law school is certainly true about life for all of us. Life here on earth has been hard in different ways for each of us. Sin entering the world in the Garden of Eden so long ago has made it so. But for those of us who one day arrive in heaven, we will look back at our life, acknowledging the difficulties and challenges, but at the same time grateful for the joy we experienced. And some of us will laugh at some of what we’ve been through. I know I will. I can’t imagine a heaven without laughter. Can you?
When the speeches concluded, the graduates, all sitting together, marched up to the stage one row at a time, to hear their name announced and to receive their diploma. I sat in a section close to the front and directly across the aisle where the graduates sat waiting their turn. It was at this point in the ceremony that I caught still another glimpse of heaven.
Cheering for the accomplishments of others is a glimpse of heaven
For as each name was called you could hear the applause from friends and family scattered throughout the auditorium. That was certainly expected. But what I didn’t expect was to see and hear applause from the graduates themselves seated and waiting their turn, for their classmates as they walked across the stage. It was loud and uniform. I don’t recall ever hearing that at other graduationsI’ve attended.
Cheering for those they competed with for good grades and the best job offers. Robust clapping for the number one student in their class, to last in the class of 185. You couldn’t tell the difference. The camaraderie was quite touching and reminded me of the verse in the Bible (Hebrews 12:1) that says
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight… and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
We don’t know for sure, but I can’t help but think there are people we knew who are now in heaven, who are cheering us on in the midst of our challenges and accomplishments. This is cCertainly this is true of Jesus. He is our biggest cheerleader of all.
Friendships formed
Listening to names as they were read and the applause that followed for each one, reminded me of the stories George told of the friendships that developed over his last three years of law school. Almost all of them were older than him. There was a great deal of diversity. Half the graduates were from out of state. About half of them were women. All from different strata of society. There was Spencer. An African American from Georgia whom George called his best friend. One day, George noticed he was wearing a pair of $10,00 Nike shoes.
Apparently there is a market for exotic athletic shoes that’s unknown to most of us. For some reason I still don’t understand, George knew the value of Spencer’s shoes and used it to begin a relationship with him.
Then there was Nick, who by now already had two careers under his belt, one as a fa firefighter and another as a social worker. While most other graduates were taking a couple of months off before they started their first job as an attorney, Nick started his law career a few days after graduation because he had a wife and three kids to support.
Another of George’s favorite friendships developed with Olivia, a spitfire with a sharp legal mind who is half as tall as George. He told our family several stories of oral arguments she and George teamed up together for class assignments. They were always quite entertaining.
So many different people that George spent time with over the past three years gave me a glimpse of heaven because there are going to be so many people there who are different from me. I think I need to learn to enjoy more people not like me here on earth. I need the practice.
A post-graduation reflection
As we close for today, my final glimpse of heaven from this graduation ceremony happened early the following week when I read something George posted on LinkedIn. It was a photo of his water bottle next to a legal textbook with the following comment directed to his law school classmates:
If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed that over the past three years, I’ve had one sticker on my water bottle:
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
Proverbs 107:29.
Admittedly, at times, I’ve desperately needed that physical reminder. From waiting for my first final to start, hands shaking, to moments before delivering my final oral argument in front of a federal district court judge. Each new looming wave of law school often felt loud. Sometimes insurmountable.
But as I walked across the stage this past Saturday, officially graduating from Marquette University Law School, that quote immediately came to mind.
And I was met with a familiar, inexplicable sense of peace. A quiet that, looking back, has always managed to find me. Wave after wave after wave.
Those of us who are followers of Jesus I suspect are going to feel this same way a few days after we die and settle into our new heavenly home. God will have stilled the loudness of the storms of life to a whisper, and we too, like George, will experience an inexplicable sense of peace and quiet.
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. Proverbs 107:29.
Thanks for listening in today, and I’ll see you again next time. Good bye for now.
Other episodes or resources related to today’s shows
139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast?
021: The Most Important Relationship of All
Prior recent episode
230: A Delightful Conversation Fueled by Silence
All past and future episodes can be found at JohnCertalic.com
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