Seriously, I served time…. doing jury duty, that is. When the summons arrived in my mailbox I knew I’d be selected, and I was. For three days I was a part of an attempted murder case. A brand new experience. So many sites, sounds people, emotions, thoughts, prayers, sorrows, relief, etc.. During all the time spent waiting around I wrote a hundred tweets and pages of blog posts in my head. But I decided to post some thoughts in my usual “Talk-to-Myself-Tuesday” manner (even thought it’s Thursday).

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-Jury Duty is just that… our duty

– I love our country & although it’s faults seem extremely obvious right now, we still live in wonderfully free country

– Being a part of the system that brings liberty & justice for all makes me proud (to be an American!… are you singin’ the song now?)

– Every person I spoke to was very friendly and willing to have a conversation- and I spoke to everyone who was near me (as you can imagine)

– I’ve always known that Detroit is filled with some very wonderful people, and these last three days just proved it

– Every person I served with on the jury was nice & truly wanted to do what was right

– Among the jurors was a flight attendant, nurse practitioner, computer engineer, Stay Home Mom from a super nice suburb, a phlebotomist, a pastor’s wife (oh, that’s me) &  a guy that looks like the Dad from Still Standing. (There were also other occupations that I can’t remember.)

– I cried. Each evening when I came home and each morning as I prayed for everyone involved in the case. So young. So messed up. So very much in need of Jesus.

– I cried because it’s a heavy responsibility

– A fellow juror is a nurse at the hospital right by my house.  Spending time getting to know her a bit was so enjoyable. A truly great lady.

– The judge surprised me. I’d never encountered a judge before. (Well, I’d never been in a courtroom before!) She was strong but careful to explain expectations, used humorous examples to illustrate her points and spoke to everyone in her courtroom with kindness & respect. Somehow I’d always thought judges would be somber & stone faced. I’m thankful that she serves in my community.

– There’s a lot of knocking on the jury room door (between the bailiff & the jury). Kinda cracked me up. But it works.

– Sometimes what your gut tells you & what the evidence tells you are two different things. That’s horrible.

– Many of the young generation is paying the price of their parents’ poor parenting. That’s horrible, too!

– Crime will happen. But we can change our city… one person at a time. (*see below)

– “Court” involves a lot of waiting.

– Waiting offered lots of time to talk to people.

– Waiting also offered lots of time to read, and I nearly finished a little book from a series I love.

– I’m grateful for the public servants that are involved in courtrooms everyday,  and I’m really thankful that I’m NOT one of them.

– I may or may not have written the judge an encouragement/thank you note, that I may or may not have been able to hand her after the trial was over.

– I may or may not of received a hug from her!  🙂

– I love Detroit!

– I love JESUS & I’m thankful that He put us in this city! 🙂  🙂  🙂

*If you’d like to read about the crime that happened behind our Hamtramck building click here. Besides actually living in the city limits, we’re actively doing things to help bring change.