THE GOERS, THE DOERS AND THE WAITERS

Some of this you have heard before.  Today I am impressed to tell it again...

For as long as there has been man upon the earth there has been the combination of
those who go away and those who await their return...  Those who go, go out for conquest, exploration, work, food, provisions or a mission.  I all too well remember the tears and pain of some of those partings...  And the great joy of the reunions.

And sometimes to meet an enemy or find an enemy that has struck and ran away...
Some enemy that has done insufferable damage to friend or family, without provocation, sometimes involving stealing and human destruction...
Some enemy that we know is there among us that will continue to do damage if not found and hindered from the ability to do or continue to do that damage again and again. 

Evil is at large in this world and the ones who do evil do it because they choose to do it for many and various reasons.  In Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and 9-11 in New York...  The enemy hits with a weapon that civilized man cannot tolerate or understand... The radical Islamics use persons rigged as bombs.  They move in among unsuspecting civilians and detonate the explosives killing themselves and as many unsuspecting civilians as possible... They will kill police, emergency workers and military also if they can manage it.  I notice that it is always some brainwashed individual that does the carrying of the explosives and killing of themselves and others... It is never the leaders.  The leaders are always trying to stay hidden in some reasonably safe location... Otherwise we would have no trouble finding the Osama Bin Ladens of this world.  Their way is to hide and manipulate others to do their dirty work of destruction.  They did that to us on 9/11/01... using hostages and airliners for the bombs.

In today's world it is the law enforcement officer or the military person that does the going and it is the loved ones and family that does the waiting... Except that it is no longer just the men who go and the women who wait.  In today's world we have both men and women going... And men and women waiting.

The war against evil can be a literal hell.  Patrol is described by some as hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror.  It can and often does exact an awful toll in death and wounded to those who do the going out... Whether the battlefield is the streets and neighborhoods of home... Or on a foreign field.  Sometimes a Peace Keeper can be taken advantage of because of distraction or inattention.  Sometimes the support system that is supposed to function does not or cannot function.  Sometimes we escape injury or death just by the fact that we had our minds keenly aware of the situation and we had to rescue ourselves because other help could not be obtained... Been there... Done that... Numerous times in these many years of service.  Quick wits and sharp intelligence are your most important tools

Man has advanced his tools and implements to a marvelous degree of usefulness but those tools have always been used to kill as well as to build... And when the killing and destruction take place there are always the survivors that bare horrible pain and suffering
as they try and deal with the loss.  On some occasions the one who went out never returns alive... sometimes there is never a trace seen of them again... ever.

These are the two sides that have experiences that are seldom understood by the other side.

The goers, the Warriors/Peace Keepers, must reach a state of mind that is geared to survival and success.  If they are going to be the best that they can possibly be they must clear all thoughts of personal life and enjoyable things from the conscious mind while in the field or on patrol.  This is necessary so that they can concentrate upon the demands of the battle in which they are to be involved as they go to duty.  It is necessary for sharpening the senses to be all business... To see and absorb details that others never see... To take actions that would be totally foreign to anyone except another Peace Keeper. 

Those who never go out in this manner can never bring themselves to the place where they can comprehend the demands of the situations in which the goers become involved.  They cannot understand that a Peace Keeper cannot go out basking in the afterglow of some greatly satisfying personal moment shared with a loved one... parent... spouse... intimate other or child...  NO!... For survival and success the mind must be clear and sharp... It must not be distracted... It must not be divided... It must be singly concentrated upon the duty at hand.  Spouses and loved ones do not comprehend the necessity of this.  In the days when I was an Instructor, teaching the truth of this to spouses and families, there were many who thought me brutal in my instructions as I tried to get this message across to loved ones in a clear and concise manner... (you can't call and say, "The biscuits are ready, come to dinner)... But there were many family members who came back to me and thanked me for the clarity of the message... Especially those who were faced with dealing with the pain of a crisis involving their loved one being killed or injured on duty. 

I am not in favor of carrying a cell phone making myself always available to anyone who wishes to call me anytime.  I carry the phone on my belt but it is turned off.  I carry a pager... If you want me for an emergency then you must page me and I will answer when I am clear and in a safe condition to do so.  Sometimes I do not hear the pager until I move out of the noise that often fills the atmosphere where I am working.  Then I check the number and call as soon as I am in a safe place to do so.  All who know me know not to contact me when I am working unless it is an emergency.  I do not visit when I am working.

When I am working I am constantly looking around me and watching the position of my working partner.  If my partner moves... I move with them immediately... And follow them so that I may provide any assistance necessary.  I am committed to keeping them as safe as possible to the very best of my ability whether the demand is for physical assistance or using the radio for communications and calling for more assistance. 

When I was a Trooper I always had to work alone.  Often times there was no one else working anywhere close to me.  Most of the time help was a half hour to an hour away...
One problem... One Trooper...  That's just the way it was and we learned ahead of  time that we were expected to do it.  Even when we went to a new duty station we were given one or two days to be shown around by another Trooper and then we were expected to have the maps and basic knowledge to find any location where we might be needed.  The part that most people cannot comprehend is that I loved it.  I thrived on it.  It was my world and I was successful in it... And I could still do it today if I were requested to do it even after all of these years.

My spouse never did understand... She just loved me and learned to live with what and who I was... A Trooper... Then a clergyman... Then a Police Officer/ Chaplain combination.  Chaplains that I train to do foot patrol are astonished at what I see and handle that they never saw until I showed it to them.  I still make it a point to know my surroundings.  I still choose the seat with my back to a wall and my face to the door.  My head is like a radar antenna scanning all directions wherever I am... Out in the open... Enclosed in a building... Put my back against something solid OR ...  Make sure the area behind me is always clear.  In addition to seeing to my own safety I have intervened in disputes and restored peace when it was necessary on the streets, in restaurants, nightclubs and wherever else it was necessary for the peace and safety of others.

The die for me was cast very early in my life by my heroes of history and literature... It was solidified by the few times in my young life when I saw a "State Man", which is what Troopers were called in the area where I grew up.  I chose the love of my life, my wife Sue, and Engineering.   I was too young to be considered a candidate for  law enforcement.  I went to work for the Commonwealth of Virginia right out of high school... But it would not go away and by the time I was 22 I had to follow the urge in my inner being... It was law enforcement... Becoming a Trooper.  It was all that I dreamed it would be and more... But there was something missing that I needed.  It was the longing for a connection with God that had the prior call in my inner man since the age of seven.  It became stronger than my love for being a Trooper and I followed that call because I could find no one to direct me in the proper way for connection... And I did ask many that I thought should know how to help me make the connection...  But for many years there was no response that I could put to use.

Several months after I left law enforcement the first time in my search for this connection, He led me to the right place and put a man in my path that could introduce me to Him... My wife and I met Him at the very same moment and the adventure took yet another turn to put me where I need to be for the fulfillment of the dream that would not go away.  He called me, trained me and put me back into law enforcement here in a place where I said often that I never wanted to live... As an officer and chaplain.  This was the thing that had been lacking while I was a Trooper... the spiritual aspect was now met...  And I have been here for over 41 years doing what was mine to do and still doing it as best I can.

The first night on the street with the police department here, the miracles began and I have witnessed many miracles since.  Through each course adjustment of the Journey I became yet a different man... Each change brought me closer to His divine purpose for my life... And made me more of a stranger to my wife.  It took much attention and much communication to keep peace and satisfaction in my marriage while I tried to satisfy that deep longing in me that had to be met... It has been filled but never satiated... The hunger is still there each morning when I awaken... My Commander-in-Chief and I discuss it often... And each day that I give back to Him and ask for His way to be accomplished through me as He sees fit, becomes more adventure and more blessing.  I have never been disappointed with a day that I gave back to Him and left to His guidance.  We have been through many adventures together.

On the other side my wife could not comprehend why I wanted to be on the streets working as an officer/chaplain volunteer when I could just as well stay home with her and the children as far as she was concerned.  She could not understand why I was like a caged animal when I did stay home or we were away from the area.  She never comprehended the need for me to be on call 24/7 to respond to some crisis somewhere in the city involving some police officer and their crisis with citizens or their families.  Even to the day I kissed her good-bye that last time and released her to my Commander-in-Chief for her to be ushered into His Eternity, she never understood that driving force within me...  But she loved me and tolerated it's demands because my Commander-in-Chief gave us a good life until she became disabled and then He gave me the Grace and personal wherewithal to meet her spiritual, physical and medical needs and tend to her well being until the very last moment she was with me in this life.

I hear from many wives the description of their frustration with the choice their husbands made to become Peace Keepers in law enforcement or the military.  Most of them feel that they are in competition with a mistress because the job takes so much of their spouse's time and attention... And occupies so much of their thoughts when they are not on duty.  I try to convey that if their love is real between them, that it is not competition but it is real love because the husband could not love them so deeply if the husband did not love honor, peace and safety for our way of life more than can be understood.  It may sound like an enigma but it is true... Those who love honor, peace and safety for others so deeply that they are willing to chance life and limb to secure it... Are also capable of loving their significant other more deeply than most people ever believe or experience.  Learning to experience and express that love is what most of us in this life of Peace Keeping have to work at until we get it to function well... The same as we work at our chosen way of life in Peace Keeping to get it to function well.  Being a Peace Keeper and a true lover of another human being takes learning, practice and communication.

With all of my heart I honor the ones who go... The Peace Keepers... But also with all of my heart I honor the ones who wait... Parents, families, significant others, spouses and whatever other description might be necessary to describe the relationship.  May the deepest of peace, comfort and understanding in regards to the relationship become yours and bring your relationship to the greatest of pleasing experience.  May the love become satisfying beyond your highest expectation.  Work at it... Pray... Be patient... Communicate as you can with one another... Enjoy the company of one another whenever possible, even for those times that are always too short... And your relationship will become one to be treasured even beyond this life... But please do not push when the other seems distant or distracted... The things that occupy their minds and hearts are not for you to compete with, but to understand that it is part of their composition and often very, very necessary for some of the time.  Just advise that you want their attention when they can give it.  Be persistent but not pushy.  Communication is the key to all relationships and we all must learn to do it well for the benefit of all of those whom we love.

Families and loved ones... THANK YOU for being willing to share the life of your loved one with all the rest of us for the peace and welfare of all of us.

Peace Keepers... THANK YOU for who you are and for what you do.  There would be no life in this world as we know it today if it were not for people such as you.

We are approaching the marvelous time of year when many of us celebrate the coming of the greatest gift ever given to the human race...  The coming of the one that we believe is the Saviour of our lives here and of our Souls eternally...  He changed the course of our lives when we met Him...  I can attest to the Truth of that personally!!!  We celebrate His birth by giving the lives He has given to us to give life and goodness to others...  God gave His best to us, hence we give gifts to those important to us in our personal lives.

Peace Keepers, you give the opportunity for us to make our lives most livable.  If you were not here and did not do the job you do we would every one have to fight for all that we would ever get, have and fight to keep it...  Because of you, we all have the best opportunity for a good life.  Thank you for the price you have paid and the gift you have given to and for all the rest of us!!!...  My Commander-In-Chief and I extend to you our Eternal THANK YOU!

"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"  All of you... ALWAYS be alert... watchful... suspicious... and wary!   Take the very best of care of you as you seek to take care of the needs of others.  Do not neglect the care and well being of your spiritual facet of life... For it needs to be strong and well for your success.

Call or write if I may be of any assistance or if you just want to give feedback.  Feedback is a blessing to all who write.  It lets the ones who write know that someone is taking the time to read the messages.  Even negative feedback can be helpful.

My daughter Donna came home from the hospital again this past Wednesday but she has the largest, most difficult wound we have had to deal with since this problem began three and a half years ago.  The wound is as long as my hand with four tunnels or channels in the bottom of it.  Three of them are as large as the size of my largest finger.  One of them is over 8 inches deep and runs from the rear end of the open wound, under the skin, on around her back.  All of them must be packed with gauze material to wick the infection out into the dressing and away from the wound.  One channel, the deepest one, is more painful than any I have ever attended before, even with her on pain meds.  I expect we will be back for more surgery very soon.  This ragged wound will have to be trimmed and smoothed in order to keep it properly cleaned and to promote proper healing.  I found the wound in this condition after she arrived home on Wednesday.  Thank God for my experience and training in wound care, I know what to do with it and how to tend it.  All of this is very painful for her in spite of strong pain meds.  Thank you for your prayers and concern...  Keep the prayers going.

As it has always been... so it still is...

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