Wednesday; May 12
It was 26 years ago this week that my life took an interesting twist. After visiting with a local politician, I was asked to become a Police Chaplain for the Pierre (South Dakota) Police Department. While I had a little bit of an insight into what the job might entail, I had no clue how this appointment would impact my life or influence our family. I consider the times I have spend working as a Police Chaplain some of the most rewarding – and some of the most challenging of my lifetime. While I have been blessed to have been given this opportunity, if there is one lesson that has stuck with me the most, it is the concept of the ministry of presence. Those of us who work in the crisis field periodically get the chance to “do” things to help people, but the biggest benefit we bring is merely standing by with people as they navigate their own issues. We will never have all the right words, nor be able to heal all the hurts, but one thing we can do is be willing to sit next to someon