I used to cook the Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, butternut squash soup, green bean casserole, stuffing, candied yams, gravy, the cranberry stuff from a can. I would brine the turkey for a day, stuff it with oranges and lemons, fill the oven with more fruit, and here’s the key to keep it from not being dry – cook it breast down. It doesn’t look pretty or like what’s portrayed in ads but it works. 

When one cooks that many dishes in a small kitchen with small appliances, planning and timing is essential. I had to map and chart out how and when I would have to start, prepare, and finish each dish – some of them simultaneously. It would, look at times, like madness and chaos. But at the end, it all comes together. It just does. 

It was the same way when I taught. I had three major courses – Ethics, Criminal Law, and Management. These courses were complex and many of the concepts tied into each other. The hard part was having to teach it bit by bit. I knew how everything fit together but my students did not. It was only at the end when they realized how beautiful and powerful some of these concepts were. One of them wrote in my student reviews that what was taught in the beginning of the course seemed so basic and simple, but at the end, showed how important they were. It all comes together. That is the joy. 

I suspect life is a lot like this. There are so many parts that look like they are random, stand alone, and don’t seem to make much sense. But it comes together. I think of the beautiful places I’ve been to – palaces, gardens, castles, landmarks, nature. And all the ugly ones – prisons, crack houses, drug neighborhoods. And I think in a funny way, there was beauty and grace everywhere. God is somehow present in all these places, even and especially those where you don’t expect Him to be. 

I once said that everything ultimately falls into place. The magic and mystery of it all. The weird thing is that it’s often the seemingly mundane and trivial that end up being so important. The cranberry stuff out of can tastes amazing when you combine it with the other dishes but not necessarily by itself. When I think back on my lectures, it’s actually the earliest ones in the course that are the most essential. Brining that turkey too.

The way I was as a prosecutor too was different. I wasn’t as aggressive and loud like the others. But I was still formidable. The way I fought was methodical and strategic. I knew how to make my moves count. Sometimes they were quiet and hidden. Others they weren’t.