Law School, Parenting and True Family Restoration: The example of Melinda Inman Butler

What do law school, parenting, and family restoration have in common? A God who directs a future and a hope. Melinda Butler, Regent 08, is a prime example.

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The Union Daily Times of Union, SC writes:

Other than parenting, Mrs. Butler said law school is the most rewarding thing she has ever done.

“I was able to grow and learn so much about myself, about the world,” she said. “It was a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t trade anything for it. There were a lot of sacrifices but it was so much worth it.”

Though the Butlers and their children came home to Union County, Mrs. Butler’s mother and sister liked Virginia Beach so much they remained. Cynthia is working and involved in her church and Lacey married a local man and they are expecting a baby.

Mrs. Butler was one of around 140 graduates of the Regent University Law School Class of 2008. In July of 2008, Mrs. Butler took the South Carolina Bar Exam. During the weeks prior, everywhere she went she took her IPod home study with her in her ear. She camped out in the corner of the library at USC-Union.

She was sworn in by the State Supreme Court on Nov. 17 and then had to fulfill a requirement that she sit through four complete trials.

Then, she began looking for office space in Union County.

She remembers standing in the parking lot of her church, Covenant Baptist, with her pastor, Chuck Parrott and his wife, Renee. They prayed she would find office space close by.

About three weeks later, an “office space for lease” sign went up at Allergy Partners of the Foothills office right across the road from the church on Medical Sciences Drive. The office manager told Mrs. Butler the space had never been rented before, but she had gone before the company’s board and told them that God had laid a burden on her heart that someone needed office space.

“It was total confirmation of everything I knew I was supposed to be doing,” she said. “I have known from the beginning that this was not possible for me to do on my own. God put me on this path and I would have never made it without his leadership and guidance. I am very thankful for that.”

A dedication service for the office was held on Feb. 7. There, it was announced that Mrs. Butler and he husband have another baby on the way, due in October. Jason also has another son, Raygan.

Mrs. Butler is operating a general practice and also accepts Social Security Disability claim cases. In March, she made her first appearance in the Union County Courtroom representing defendants in Criminal Court. She said inmate rights are very important to her. Her father, Timothy Blalock, is serving a life sentence in federal prison. She remains in constant contact with him through letters and phone calls and hopes to visit him this summer in Colorado.

“He has changed his life around,” Mrs. Butler said. “He was saved in 1995 which led to me and my sister going to where we have.”

Mrs. Butler said she owes all of her success to God and she realizes He knew the plan He had for her life long ago.

Read the full article here.

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When Melinda was in law school, she led the way in a collaboration with her then employer Attorney Darrell M. Harding and Professor Kohm on an article on grandparents visitation rights in the Virginia State Bar General Practice Newsletter, entitled “To Grandmother’s House We Go!” Securing the Legal Interests of Grandparents, NEWSLETTER OF THE GENERAL PRACTICE SECTION OF THE VIRGINIA STATE BAR, Winter 2008.

So what do law school, parenting, and family restoration have in common? “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans for welfare, and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 Melinda’s father coming to Christ in prison triggered her relationship with God, and that of her now husband. This is a family restored in so many ways. And now God is using Melinda to offer that hope through her law practice to others who are dealing with family brokenness.

When a person comes to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God directs his or her future, and He is the hope for family restoration, and much more!