Family and the law

It's amazing how the Lord brings single pieces together to create a whole picture. The theme of the past week has been family and the law. Wednesday, I attended a panel discussion comprised of women lawyers, professors, and a judge. They talked about their calling in the law, their calling as wives and mothers, and their experiences as women in a male dominant field. It was evident that each considered their roles to be important, and because the legal field is so demanding they stressed the importance of being led by God in each of those roles. The takeaway was to keep God first, then husband and children, and then job. This isn't an easy task for personalities that end up in the law, as the goal is usually to strive ahead with full force. It is apparent that this is what sets us apart as believers in the work force. We have to work with excellency, but we have to keep our priorities always in line.

The family and the law topic came up again in an immigration discussion I attended saturday. The talk was given by various state and federal representatives, non-profit leaders, and lawyers. The discussion was about how to deal with immigration issues at the enforcement and legislative levels. One topic that struck me was the discussion of individuals who have immigrated illegally and have children that are born in the United States. These kids attend school here and have no ties to their parents' native land. he parents are deported because they are here illegally or their documents ran out and they couldn't get the legal help needed to renew. If we deport the parents, the children are put in foster care in the United States and become unfortunatley put "a burden on society." First of all, when do children ever become a burden, and secondly, why are children being taken from their families when the parents don't want to give them up? Aren't there enough chlildren in the foster care system? What about the families that here working to support their own families? what about the law? How do we deal with this issue if we are a nation that prizes family unity? How do we deal with this issue in general? I haven't developed the least idea yet, but I am looking forward to learning from christian attorneys in the field to see what this issue truely looks like.

Another tie to this theme: I have been accepted as an intern for the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute in Washington, D.C. to work on adoption and foster care research for policy makers.