July 28th: Resilience

 

I had a conversation with a police officer about what it takes for him to do about his daily duty considering the negativity lately about police officers and policing. We ended up talking about resilience in policing. He comes from a long family tradition of law enforcement. This picture summarizes our conversation in many ways.


We need to know who is with us and whom we can depend on in order to have the courage to move ahead with our responsibilities. He mentioned the advice and the encouragement he has received from his family and his church family. He would not pay too much attention to the negative talks from those who don't know him and don't care about him and his family.


We need to be aware of the challenges of the environment and find ways to work through them. There are always open doors when we search and work hard to find them. We need to take advantage of these opportunities. He talked about being intentional about building relationships with the community. He has discovered new ways of being an officer by helping teenagers.


Nothing can be more challenging than being a police officer these days. The political and social environments can appear so unsupportive. We still witness some incredible acts of kindness and respect from our officers. Let us pray for their resilience as they go about their work.


We need to know where we receive our spiritual nourishment. These two flowers are happy to be in one sunlight. They need it. The officer shared with me how to see God in his involvement with kids outside his work. He becomes more and more aware of how God has used these opportunities to nourish his soul and his commitment to an officer.


Exodus 15: 26

Saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer."


2 Timothy 3: 1-5

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

Popular posts from this blog

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Oct 1st, 2022: Be With Those Who Suffer

Image
  Listening to a young woman who shared her experience of being raped repeatedly by a family member for over four years as a teenager made my heart ache. The man who did that was a leader of a church. He was imprisoned for seven months and released. He was her stepfather. Her mother chose to pick him over her after his release. Her life has changed forever. She had to go to a foster home. Her foster parents helped her with her restoration and her faith in God. Her supervisor at work asked me to see her because someone at work was inappropriate toward her. That triggered many emotions within her. I did not expect the story I heard from her. The meeting took longer than I thought, and it was toward the end of the day. She kept talking about her anger and the pain she felt when men treated her like a subject. I knew that the best I could do was to listen. She told me she had not been able to tell anyone as much as with me. God reminded me of the true calling of being a pas...
Read more