Loving Those Who Serve and Protect

Bringing Christ’s Love To Law Enforcement Families

By Catherine (Draeger) Pederson, Ph.D.

I sat, staring out the window. I was still praying, crying, and wondering what to do when my husband got home. He’d left a short time ago to attend the third funeral in just over six months of a friend and co-worker. In such a short period of time, I had watched my husband iron his uniform with sharp creases and wear a black memorial strap over his badge. I was at a loss. I know I am supposed to support my husband, but I didn’t know how. I hadn’t read a book or been in a Bible study that covered this subject, and I didn’t have friends I could call who had been there before. I was scared, lonely, and afraid of the unknown.

While sitting in that same chair some years ago, I had a lot of time to think. Both my husband and I were in careers we loved. My husband was developing into a very fine police officer protecting and serving our community. For the first several years of his career, I hadn’t noticed the impact his career choice had on my life.

As time passed, I began to realize that my husband had chosen a career that he couldn’t just leave at the door when he came home. I started to realize how his heart came home at night. I was flooded with the memories of stories my husband recounted to me, which returned as vividly as the first time I heard them; I began to connect the dots. I also realized that I have the hope of Jesus in my life, and yet I sit here overwhelmed, visualizing my husband’s stories. What about those people that don’t have a place to find hope?