Reflection and Gratitude

 This year May 28th is a special day for me and my family.  Not only is it Memorial Day but this year it happens to fall on my eldest son's 6th birthday.  I'm so grateful for the past six years and the blessings our family have been given.  I find myself fortunate to be able to raise a family in the best country on earth. I firmly believe God had a hand in the creation of this great nation just as he did in bringing Westley into our family.  The creation and maintenance of the United States however did not, and does not come, without a heavy price.  It is our military and their families, through their sacrifice, through their toil and blood that we get to call ourselves: "The land of the free and home of the brave!"  God had a hand in the promise of America, but for those who know God as I do, much of his work is done through his creation....US.  We all must sacrifice if America is to remain a bastion of hope in the world.  We all must instill the principles of honor and respect to our younger generations.  I explained to my son the importance of May 28th this year.  It is his birthday.  A time to be happy and celebrate.  It is also Memorial Day a chance to give thanks and reflect.  At six years old he may get caught up in the whirlwind of festivities but he will continue to grow, knowing the true cost of balloons, cake and presents.  He will be proud to be an American.

Prepare for Impact!

Impact!

We must wake each morning and truly think about who we will impact that day.  It must be conscious decision and not something we leave to chance.  Love is a deliberate act not a passive feeling.  It’s not necessarily easy either.  It becomes easy through repetition. Repetition makes it habit.  Like training a muscle or committing some fact to memory.  It’s easiest to impact those who are part of our daily lives.  Impact; however can be good and bad.  If it’s not deliberate and thought out, it is a gamble. 

 I’m trying to get better at impacting strangers.  It’s not easy and I’m not always successful in doing so.  It’s far too easy to get caught up in the routine of life; it’s easy to get caught up in the routine of what I have to do for MY life.  It’s hard to think about others albeit a total stranger first.  Positive impact must be planned and practiced.

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly in these blogs I’m a police officer.  I’m impacting lives on a daily basis but if I approach my job by just going through the motions the impact only scratches the surface….it is not Deep Impact!  The funny thing is to have deep impact; it does not take monumental effort, simply an effort. Kind of like what the bible says about faith…”If you only had the faith of a mustard seed.”  The point is to not leave it to happenstance.

Sometimes positive impact comes through listening to your heart.  I know that might sound cheesy, but I think that is how God speaks to us.  If you don’t believe in God, well that is still where goodness is spoken to you.  For me, I don’t get a lot of clear direction from God.  There is no burning bush, no voice from on High booming down telling me what to do and when to do it.  I rely on the innate goodness given to us as humans, and the moral senses of what is right that has been reinforced through good and loving people in my life.  Some may call it listening to the Holy Spirit.  Call it what you want but act on the prompting of goodness…..even it makes you uncomfortable.

Last year, I responded to a radio call of a mentally disturbed person.  This man was a husband and a father of three beautiful girls.  Dad had been recently began episodes of paranoia….each day getting worse.  Our department’s Psychological Emergency Response Team responded and he was ultimately placed on psychiatric hold and transported to a hospital.  I felt bad for the family and wished there was something I could do.  I sent up a prayer and something inside told me to pray with the family…..I ignored it, I told myself as I got into my patrol car that it would be silly and I would feel totally awkward.  I drove out of the neighborhood and couldn’t shake the feeling.  A mile or two down the main road and I turned the car around.  I had to catch my breath as I knocked on the family’s door.  Mom had a puzzled look on her face.  I informed her that something was telling me to pray for her husband and their family with them.  She broke down.  She ushered her teenage daughters down from upstairs and informed them of why I had returned….everyone was misty eyed.  We held hands in a circle and I offered my short awkward prayer for their family.  Finished, slightly embarrassed and ready to bolt out the door, I was shocked when mom picked up where I had left off, then daughter #1, daughter #2 and daughter #3.  Expressing their gratitude for me. 

I won’t lie it felt good.  But the point is it was not something I wanted to do, but decided to do.  I don’t know what the lasting impact was but I know it was something that family needed at the time.  I look for opportunities like that; I try to think in advance of who I can impact that day.  I’m not always successful, I often forget or an opportunity does not really present itself.  Often the act I choose and the reaction is much more subtle than the example I just listed. 

One.  Start with a planned impact of just one person.