Why is court so intimidating? Maybe it’s the design. ..the heavy doors, dark wood, and raised bench. Maybe it’s the sounds…quiet whispers, broken by the occasional outburst of someone finding out things didn’t go their way, the opening and shutting of courtroom doors and the thought that with each one a decision with lasting effects is being made, the sniffling of a sad woman, the hum of audio recordings, and the absolute quiet in a room as you await the judges next word, next judgment.
Court has always felt intimidating but even more so for me now as I have become my own attorney. Cheaper…but more stressful.
I had to renew our Order of Protection for the third time recently. Even though I went with new evidence to support keeping the Order in place, you still walk in not knowing what will happen. You can never count on a specific ruling. It depends which Commissioner happens to be on the bench and what they require. Praise God the Commissioner ruled in our favor again. This marks year three free from a psychopath.
Then this week I went back to court again for a Status Conferences on our longstanding case to change child support, parenting time and legal decision making. A Status Conference is basically a check-in to make sure both parties have done what they were supposed to do. In our case, it’s usually to check to see if my ex has submitted the paperwork he was required to. The answer is usually no and so the judge sets another court date six weeks out again. This has been going on for a year and a half now. This time the judge promised we would be setting the trial date at our next hearing. So, we could actually go to court for our trial sometime this summer. Pray God gives me an extra dose of wisdom and understanding for that time. I can already see how God has used these multiple delays to reveal my ex’s true character to the judge. It has been time well spent. I’m hoping it pays off when it is time for a final verdict. I’ll keep you posted about when that will be because I will need to call in ALL the prayer warriors I can!
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. (Proverbs 19:21)