41 Days of Gratitude, Day Three
I cracked open my eyes and squinted. It was very dark outside, but all the lights were on in the house. In another room, I heard Chief talking. That’s not a good sign.
My thoughts went to the date…October 23rd. It marks the 1st Anniversary of a nightmare…the on-duty suicide of a friend in Chief’s area. On his watch…ugh. Then I remembered we have an officer in the hospital—run over by a drunk driver last weekend. I hoped he hadn’t taken a turn for the worst…
It wasn’t our Chippy…but it wasn’t good. It happened again, in the Greater Sacramento area. One officer down and gone, shot in cold blood. Another officer wounded and in the hospital. El Dorado County this time…our H2LOC Vice President’s husband is the Sheriff. Janine has been working with the spouses for years.
At that point, I’m up and moving, getting Chief out the door. There wasn’t a question, just go. And all day, EDSO has been showered with help, love, and support. Meals, ribbons, hugs, chaplains…and many will be there tomorrow, and next week.
The greater Sacramento area has been through so much in the last six years, but it’s gotten ridiculous. Danny. Michael. Mark. Bob. Lucas. Dennis. Sean. Natalie. Nathan. Tara. Now Brian. And that doesn’t include those who have been wounded. That’s another long list.
It doesn’t seem like there’s much to be thankful for.
But there is.
Because beauty rises from ashes. The loss of these officers can never be filled…but in the midst of grief and tragedy, love shows up. People give of themselves in times like these…they mourn with us, sit with us, send flags, ride bikes, pray, make meals and tie ribbons and give money. All of these gestures send the message: we’re with you.
That is something to be thankful for. The Blue Line Family may at times be as dysfunctional as any other family, but we care. We really do. And I’m so grateful.
These past weeks our team has been asking for patches from departments all over the country, and we’ve received many. We are using them for our Gala in a few weeks, but actually, we came up with something even better to do with them.
It’s called #prayforthepatch. At least weekly, our team will pull out a patch that represents a department, and we will post a pic of that patch with a prayer. We’re asking you to join us in saying your own prayer, sending good thoughts to that department if you’re not a praying person, or just agree with ours. Tonight, we are starting with three patches: El Dorado County because of today’s loss. Placer County SO and Sacramento County SO because tomorrow marks the 5-year anniversary of Michael Davis and Danny Oliver—a several hour critical incident through the Sacramento area that killed two, wounded two, and left an indelible mark on the lives of many officers, families, and civilians. You’ll hear a bit more tomorrow on this.
We are thankful for the Blue Line Family. We pray for these three counties and their departments—that God would be so close in the grief and bring joy back into the lives of these families. We pray for deep healing, for renewed strength, and also for justice to prevail!
