It Happened out of Nowhere

My Encounter With a Police Officer at Church

It was a pretty typical day at church on the Fourth of July weekend.

My wife and I went to the 9:30 service, served as greeters before the second service, and had some idle chat with other churchgoers before heading home for a family cookout.

It was your garden-variety day at church until it wasn’t.

One of the people we were chopping it up with was an officer our church hired who is among the first people guests see when they arrive.

He’s always there.

Pleasant.

Quiet.

Unassuming.

Present.

We have exchanged pleasantries before, but nothing too in-depth.

Out of nowhere, he asked us what we did for a living.

We told him we started a video production business 20 years ago this August after spending the first half of our careers in TV news.

His ears perked up.

Not in a “I’m impressed” kind of way.

In a, ‘I want to try something different too but I don’t know where to start’ kind of way.

He wondered how we made the transition from worker bees to starting our own business.

I explained that very few people believed we could do it, and in fact, many even tried talking us out of it.

We had no real “start your own business” kind of experience.

No real money to put into it.

No staff.

Zero idea where to start.

However, we told him we believed fully in our idea and that our biggest reason for wanting to start our own thing was so we could spend more time with our kids, who were very young at the time.

TV news means nights, early mornings, weekends, holidays, and on and on.

We aren’t opposed to work.

Far from it.

But the way we looked at, money comes and goes.

Time with your kids doesn't.

You only get one shot.

The way we saw it, the freedom to break away on any given day to go to a ball practice, a swim meet, or a dance recital meant more to us than anything TV news could provide.

Then, just as we were ready to head home for lunch, it happened.

Out of nowhere.

The officer’s eyes began to well up.

Fast.

Then he broke down.

I mean, BROKE DOWN!

Uncontrollably.

I was stunned and honestly didn’t quite know what to do or say.

I put my arm around him, the two of us walked outside, and then he told me what was going on.

Both of his parents had recently suffered heart attacks.

His mom had hers just last week.

They live in California.

He lives in Texas.

His voice cracked as he said, “I can’t just leave.”

His job doesn’t work that way.

He couldn’t just book a flight, spend a week or so with his mom, help around the house, or simply sit beside her.

That tore him apart.

His duties as an officer had to take precedence.

Like most people in any job, taking time off isn’t always easy.

The one or two weeks of PTO allotted by many employers is what it is.

Oftentimes, it’s unforgiving.

It’s a reality that millions of people face every single day.

I get it. We’ve been there.

All the officer could think about was the time he couldn’t get back.

Not being there for his mom right now in Riverside County darn near broke him.

I looked at him and said, “You know, I think you’re at the very least the second most important person in this church.”

At that point, he sniffled a bit, wiped his eyes, and looked directly into mine.

I told him our pastor feeds people spiritually, but he provides something many at the church are thankful for but may take for granted.

Safety.

Peace of mind.

If something terrible happened during a service, people would instinctively look for our officer friend to handle it.

As we talked, I told him there are times in life when God puts us in places where He needs us most.

Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense.

In his case, clearly, at least right now, he was supposed to be in Texas, not California.

Maybe he needed this feeling of longing to be somewhere else to take action to try to get there.

Then we talked about fear.

Not the kind police officers face every day.

That’s real fear.

We talked about the fear of thinking outside the box and going for something that may seem impossible but is definitely worth pursuing.

He kept asking questions about how and where to start.

He didn’t know where to begin.

He wasn’t even sure what “it” might be.

Few of us actually do.

Sometimes just starting works, and then figure out the rest as you go.

That’s what we did—-and still do at times.

At that point he started to calm down.

He kept saying, “I needed to hear this. The timing is perfect.”

I told him a simple truth my wife and I discovered as we started our business journey 20 years ago.

There are no guarantees.

Just start somewhere.

Take your idea, believe in it more than anyone else, and execute your vision one day at a time.

Have a good product your proud of.

Do business right.

Don’t overcharge.

Treat your co-workers the way they deserve to be treated.

Solve your customers’ problems with something unique to your idea.

And have fun if you can.

He took another breath.

Several, actually.

His eyes dried.

He shook his head up and down.

Smiled.

Sort of.

And just said again, “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

Before we left, we prayed together.

Right there near the church parking lot.

We prayed for him, his parents, and for wisdom.

We prayed that, whatever God has planned for him next, he'd have the courage to say yes—or at the very least, give it serious consideration.

I don’t know whether that officer will start a business someday.

Maybe he will.

Maybe he won’t.

But I do know this.

His heart is stirring.

I can’t wait to see where it takes him next.