May

May is a schizophrenic month for me. Its first few days are among the busiest of the year—and the best.

We held our law school commissioning service and graduation banquet on May 8 and the university commencement service on May 9. All were great events. My favorite was commissioning, a time in which we not only celebrate our graduates’ achievements, but prayerfully commit them to God and commission them for his service. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Jay Sekulow, and Pat Robertson all shared thoughts with the graduates. The best part of all was graduates sharing testimonies of how God has worked in their lives—and looking ahead to how God might use them in the years to come.

There is nothing like the sheer joy and exuberant celebration of the graduation weekend. It—and the week before—is also a great opportunity to meet with proud parents, spouses, and children of our grads. They have all been very much a part of their students’ law school experience and I enjoy getting to know them and thanking them.

May is great until the Monday after commencement. Then it gets really quiet. Students are gone (other than a few unhappy souls already beginning their bar exam preparation!). Left behind are an empty atrium and stacks of blue books to grade. (By the way, I finished grading yesterday for any Civil Liberties and National Security students who may be wondering!)

The quiet at the end of May can be good for catching up and planning. But I miss the students already.