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The “Sharing the Faith” Life Teen Blog Series features testimonies of core members who find creative ways to live out the Gospel in their unique vocational fields.
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“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
My name is John. I am a proud Catholic, a husband, a father, and I have the best job in the world: I am a police officer. Technically, I am a lieutenant, but the best job ever is just being a cop. Why is it the best job in the world? I am glad you asked! It’s because I have a front row seat to the show of life. The triumphs and tragedies that most people see on the news, I get to see live firsthand. I have seen the heights of God’s goodness and man’s compassion toward his fellow man; and I have seen the depths of despair, anger, hate, apathy, and cruelty. It is between these extremes that my faith in God has been continually tested, refined, and ultimately proven. It is also between these extremes that I have come to believe, time and again, that God will put me in places where I can be of service.
In early May of 2022, I attended a refresher training on emergency first-aid and continuous cardiac resuscitation (CCR). It was mandatory training, and, like most cops, I went for the sole purpose of checking it off my to-do list. I have given CCR to dozens of people. Some live and some die. As a cop, you become calloused to many end-of-life scenarios. It is both the reality of the job and a job hazard.
Later that week, I was driving between calls-for-service in the south section of my city. I completely missed my normal turn and had to take an alternate path that I would otherwise rarely take. My new path was marked with daytime traffic, multiple lights, pedestrians, bicyclists, and everything else that would cause an absolute headache. I was perturbed — so perturbed, in fact, that I missed the next opportunity I had to remove myself from this path because I was too busy being perturbed by my current circumstances. I resigned myself to sitting in traffic and contemplating my own localized stupidity that led me to this situation. In the middle of my contemplation, a hot tone was broadcast on the police radio. Hot tones are prolonged alerts that cause every police officer to stop and listen to the radio broadcast. Hot tones never signal anything good. This particular hot tone was for a drowned child at our local lake.
My path, which I had not originally planned to be on, had me right at the lake. I arrived at the scene less than 30 seconds after the call was broadcast. By then, the lifeless child had been pulled from the lake. I ran up to him and I heard a group of women praying out loud for this child’s life to be restored. But as I started performing CCR, they stopped praying. I looked at the women and reminded them that there was no time to stop praying, and asked them to get back to work.
I gave the young boy CCR for approximately three minutes before medical professionals arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he made a full recovery. One of the best parts of this story is, in talking with the women afterwards, I learned that the young boy’s name is Blessed. Needless to say, I was not calloused to this boy’s survival. I remember crying as I drove away from that scene, praising God for His goodness in putting me on that path and ensuring I stay on that path.
Saint Paul reassures us “that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) You may sometimes feel like you are wasting your time, like you are on the wrong path, like you have missed an opportunity, or like circumstances are not favoring you. You may sometimes feel that your path is crooked, bent, or broken. And yet, God will ultimately find a way to make it straight and show you His love.
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Writer’s Note: The reality of drownings is that not every victim will survive. The loss of life, especially young life, is a tragedy shared by many people reading this blog. If you share in a similar tragedy, I hope you find comfort in this thought: Jesus Christ, true God and true man, wept at the death of His friend Lazurus. Jesus consoled Martha and Mary who were suffering from the devastating loss of their brother. Jesus showed His power over death by raising Lazarus and then conquering death through His Resurrection. This is the same Jesus who promised us, “Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) This is the Redeemer who we serve, and His promises endure forever.
