Apr 2001 Volume 82 Number 4
"serving the protectors"
| Apr 2001 Volume 82 Number 4 "serving the protectors" |
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Chaplaincy |
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The adrenaline was pumping, lights flashing, siren blaring and speedo moving upward. I felt alive sitting in this police patrol car on a real call. The little boy in me was coming true.
Then I remembered my time with the Ambulance Service of Victoria, the excitement of driver training and the hope of one day rolling with lights and sirens going. Sometime later, it happened! I felt sick in the pit of my stomach – worried rather than excited. My mouth was dry, and I hoped I would make it to the hospital in time.
Back in the patrol car, we negotiated the road obstacles – mostly people who seemed deaf or had their stereos up so loud they couldn’t hear the siren. I watched the driver’s hands and saw the same things I had felt.
This officer was probably hoping simply to get home to his family at the end of his shift.
In the end, everything was fine. My hour on patrol was over. We had chased sheep off roads, patrolled all the hot spots and survived unharmed. It was a great fun way for a police chaplain to learn and experience another world. I had been there before with the Victoria Police. But country patrols were long on distance and short on action. I realize now how lucky those days were.
Much in the world has changed. One thing that doesn’t change is hope. We are lost and have no direction without it. Police hope simply to get through another shift and that, what they see in the streets is not happening in their own homes.
We say “hope” when we should say “wish” or “dream”. Hope is something deeper and far more abiding than a wish. It doesn’t mean what we wish for is wrong. It means wishes are part of a larger hope. We know the difference between the loss of a wish or dream and the look of utter hopelessness. We have all looked into the eyes of one who has lost hope. A great depth of nothingness stares out from such eyes. The story of the eagle has always helped me.
An eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks. The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, the eagle sets its wings so the wind picks it up and lifts it high above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle soars above it. He does not escape the storm; he simply uses it for elevation.
When life’s storms come upon us – and we all experience them – we can rise above them by setting our minds on God and trusting in his promises. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God’s power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment.
How we handle life’s burdens weighs us down, not the burdens themselves. “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles”(Isaiah 40:31). I have many wishes and dreams that change, but I always have the same hope. No matter how bad life gets, no matter how black the world can be – and is – I will always hope to rise above life’s storms.
SA Police Chaplains
Welfare Section 58 David Marr 8364 3567 Senior Police Chaplain. Academy 8 Brenton Daulby 8272 8324 Adelaide: Angas Street 158 Bruce Grindlay 8295 2220 Adelaide: Hindley Street 62 Bruce Grindlay 8295 2220 Adelaide Hills Division 54 Adrian Stephens 8398 2510 Office: 8398 2517 Ceduna 214 Sybil Peacock 8625 3505 Christies Beach 20 Peter Coote 8381 3039 0412 818 995 Clare 202 Michael Dutschke 8842 3681 Communications 172 David Hand 8376 5612 Elizabeth 52 Vacant Far North 210 John Folkman 8672 5011 Firearms/Records Dianna Bartlett 8337 8552 Gawler 52 Brian Tscharke 8522 2288 Glenelg 22 Malcolm Thomas 8377 0772 Henley Beach 18 Vacant Holden Hill 44 Rod Dyson 8365 1170 Kadina 71 Vacant Kingston 208 Mount Gambier 208 Brian Ashworth (w) 8723 1353 (h) 8725 2537 Murray Bridge 200 Malcolm Bottrill 8532 5536 Naracoorte 208 Bruce Cliff 8737 2457 0417 811 702 Norwood 60 Lynton Wade 8362 2227 0418 831 703 Nuriootpa 204 Andy Kowald 8562 1011 Port Adelaide 6 Jeff Oake 8341 5930 Port Pirie 206 Steve Ardill 8632 3977 Prosecution Services 176 Vacant Port Augusta PS 210 Mark Thomas 8642 2487 0401 671 850 Port Lincoln 214 Vacant Riverland 212 Robin Zadow 8588 1540 Salisbury 53 Vacant South East Terry Natt 8571 1114 Sturt 12 Chris Beal 8278 9578 Tea Tree Gully 48 Bob George 8395 9363 Thebarton Barracks 32 Joe Grealy 8338 3225 Transit Division Wayne Shepherd 8443 4895 Whyalla 218 Tony Redden 8649 3593
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