“Your husband works where? I mean…it’s gotta be bad enough to be a cop these days, but for that department? Why doesn’t he just quit? I would if I were him!”
I was slightly un-nerved when a co-worker said these words to me. I mean sure…my LEO happens to work for one of the police departments that made national headlines last year…and the saga continues on today, but to say you would quit if you were him?! Thank goodness she’s not! (Where does this lady think we would live? I happen to enjoy indoor plumbing!)
Do I care to explain to this person that my LEO has worked for this particular department for over 20 years…that it has been very good to him…that he continues to serve the community daily…that more often than not a grateful resident buys his lunch…that one or two employees’ actions truly don’t define an entire department of good police officers?
I definitely do not have the time or energy to run around and defend my LEO’s character and reputation to every person I come in contact with.
And here’s the thing I’m discovering…I don’t need to.
2020 was such a tough year of feeling attacked and judged for so many law enforcement families, simply by association or by working for departments that have been popular in the news for all the wrong reasons. Compound that with people you value as friends, and even family, chiming in with any sort of anti-police rhetoric...it can be discouraging and overwhelming. If your LEO’s department was hit hard last year…or even currently…I strongly encourage you to simply take a long, deep breath…and be confident. Be confident in knowing that your LEO is out there doing the right thing. Be confident in his training. Be confident that your LEO did not choose this career path lightly. Be confident in the Lord (Jeremiah 17:7) and not in the simple, rash opinions of others. Be confident in knowing that as much as your LEO has heard this calling to protect and serve…you’ve been called to this life as well.
I’ve learned, and am continually reminding myself, that I do have a choice in all of this. For my own health and mental sanity, I am clinging to those in my life that support our family and I am consciously choosing to ignore the voices that don’t. I have decided that I would rather spend my time working, cleaning, cooking, walking the dog, stepping on Legos, picking up litter from a street corner, folding fitted sheets, and licking stamps, than giving up one more minute worrying about trying to change the minds of people who have never even met my husband. (For the record, he’s pretty great…even if you count the fact that he has never learned how to actually put a sock into the hamper).
So whether your LEO is protecting and serving in a department plastered all over the news or a quiet one…whether he’s employed by a department of hundreds or a handful...be proud…be confident…be strong…and know you are not alone in this.
l Sandee l