If you have read my previous articles you will know that I am a dispatcher. My job is to get help to the citizens of my area and make sure that the law enforcement officers go home at the end of the day. The days that everyone goes home are good days.
Late in the evening, I was trying to get in a workout, after failing to do so for many days before. I felt like I was accomplishing something and I was proud of myself. It wasn't a very long workout, but at least I was doing something. I was halfway through when a knock on my door sounded. It was my husband, I thought it was for something trivial or something I could tell him to come back later. It wasn't any of the above.
He came to tell me that a US Marshall had lost his life, doing his job. This hits close to home for many reasons. One, that US Marshall was doing in his job in a city I am very familiar with. One that is in my home state. Two, my job is to keep men like him safe. It is what I do. The problem is there is only so much you can do from behind a computer screen. The third and most heartbreaking is because my husband is one of them.
Not only do I talk to the people who need help, but I also send them the one I love. It is a scary thing to do given the current state of the world. With each police death or incident, I worry.
I worry that one day it may be my husband who doesn't come home. I worry that my kids will be heartbroken without him. I worry that he may have to make a choice between his life and someone else's. I worry that he will give his life for others because I know that is who he is. I worry for every single law enforcement officer I work with.
There is so much division in the world right now. Everyone wants to be recognized and know that they matter. The truth is each life matters. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, the color of your skin, the size of your bank account, you are a human being. We are in the same boat. Each of us has lives that can be taken in a moment.
To those who protect and serve, thank you for all that you do. Thank you for being willing to protect those who call you names and try to hurt you. Thank you for responding to the scene, no matter who calls. Thank you for sacrificing the greatest thing any human being can, your lives.
Greater love has no man than this: to lay down ones life for a friend. John 13:15
Friend or foe, thank you for being willing to lay it all down.
