As I was praying for officers and APD this week, the value of compassion came to mind. I can only guess, but I would think it is hard not to become jaded in your job. People making bad choices over and over and then blaming others, or even blaming you, for where they find themselves. Once you lose a compassionate heart, it can be hard to find it again even for people who didn’t cause their own misery.
     
Two things struck me about this quote: 1) the thought that being compassionate can bring happiness to you and not just others. 2) the idea that compassion is a “practice”. Compassion is a choice to empathize with another’s situation and to take action to help.
     
I am thankful APD strives to be a compassionate organization...that compassion has been listed as one of your values. I have seen compassion in action. I remember during a ride along, a man initially appeared to be driving drunk, but it turned out he was suffering from diabetic complications. One officer waited while a friend of the family came to pick up the vehicle so it would not be towed, and the officer I was riding with took the man home, carried in his groceries and put them in the fridge. 
     
As I pray for you this week, I pray that you would not be jaded by the things you deal with, but that as you practice compassion it would bring happiness not only to others, but happiness (and peace) to you as well.
     
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob 

Whenever I am asked to pray for officers in a public gathering, I have a simple acrostic I like to use with the word POLICE:

Protection at all times
Officers you work with
Loved ones who send you out each day
Integrity that you may always do what is right
Community support
Encouragement when days are hard & critics are loud

Integrity is such a huge character quality and so important to a strong society. In order for you to maintain the public’s trust, integrity is something you must exemplify both personally and on the job. I came across a story that I thought was a great picture of what integrity means. It came from the book No Shortcuts to the Top, the autobiography of Ed Viesturs who is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world’s eight-thousand-meter mountains. On his 3rd attempt at his last mountain, he found a note his wife packed for him. “My dearest Eddie, be great. Be the stand...Be it!” He says, “it was one of Paula’s favorite mottoes. Not ‘take a stand.’ BE THE STAND.”

 My thought/prayer for you as an officer and individual this week is a challenge. Don’t just “take a stand” for what is right. BE THE STAND.” 

Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob