Our younger son, following graduation from college, spent seven years traveling the USA in a rock band, recording two albums in Nashville, getting married, having a son himself all the while also working at a local law firm, has recently graduated from Weidner Law School as valedictorian. He has worked so hard and we are so proud of him as any parent would be. But there’s more to the story and it is this ‘more’ part that causes us to be especially proud – his speech delivered at graduation before his classmates, his professors, guest speakers and the many family members gathered there that day.

Marc congratulated all graduates, thanked his professors and his family and then told us that becoming a lawyer has to be more than making money. He said there has to be a larger cause than just work and stuff. In part he said, “As law students and soon to be lawyers, we are privileged. We are privileged to have attended this school to become lawyers. What will we do with that privilege? When we enter our practice, we must remember the poor, the needy, those who cannot help themselves and the incarcerated. Serve the poor around you and remember as John Bradford said, ‘If not for the grace of God, there go I.’”

It is that heart we are most proud of. It is that heart that our Jesus has shaped and molded in him. It is that heart that occurred through mission trips as a teen, youth group, small groups, family devotions and life experiences. We love You, Father, for birthing that heart in our son. We love you, Marc, for walking in these heart values of your heavenly Father.