The Souvenir

There were too many similar stories to remember them all, but several more flashed into his head. With few exceptions, he allowed work to take precedence over his family. He had never felt so ashamed in his life.

During that drive, Jack also thought about his career. He thought about the clients he represented, the cases he had been involved in, and most significantly, the issues he had dealt with as a lawyer doing mostly insurance defense and corporate litigation. He asked himself this question – how many people he had represented would show up at his funeral, let alone tell any stories about how he had helped them? He couldn’t think of a single one. All the work he had ever done was about making money, holding on to money, or not paying money to an injured person who really needed and deserved it. The only thing that might be true is that some of the plaintiffs with cases against his clients might show up to pray for his soul.

When Jack was about 40 miles from home, he pulled into a rest area and parked where no one could see him. He had never felt so alone, ashamed or empty. Overcome by emotion, he buried his face in his hands and cried uncontrollably. He didn’t stop for a long time. When he had gained some control over himself, Jack did something he had not sincerely done in a long time – he prayed. In that private moment with God, Jack realized the events of the past week had been leading him to one inescapable truth – he needed to make some changes in his life.