second chances

if you’ve followed along for a bit, then you know that i was a cop. it was cool. kinda. i was also on the SWAT team. again, kinda cool. but not really.

let me tell you a story about how awesome god is.

in july, 2007 i was training a “rookie” (cop talk for a new person) and thought i’d stir up a little action by going to arrest a guy (who i’ll call jeff). jeff was wanted for a DUI which isn’t a huge deal but the bond was $50,000 (to get out of jail, that’s really high).

we showed up and found jeff sitting in the backyard with his wife and neighbors. as soon as jeff saw us he ran inside the house and locked all of the doors. not a big deal, right? right.

however, jeff decided to grab his little kid and his pistol and walk around the house. as you can imagine, the stakes were raised a little bit and we tried to get him to come out of the house. but jeff didn’t want to. and then jeff’s wife told us that she was worried because he was suicidal and she thought he might hurt their child and kill himself.

so the SWAT team came out.

i was pretty excited. it was my first SWAT call out and it fell into the category of a barricaded gunman/hostage situation…so i was excited. but my excitement faded into boredom rather quickly as i was put on a perimeter spot and had to stand in front of the house, hiding behind a car, for the next 4-5 hours.

anyways, jeff refused to talk with our negotiators so after 4-5 hours, the team forced entry into the house. the part of the team that went in the house safely removed the kiddo and arrested jeff. in the process of being arrested, jeff received a large gash on his forehead which required lots of stitches. so, my rookie and i went to the hospital and sat with jeff while he got stitches. i don’t remember a lot of our conversation but i remember jeff being a nice guy and him continually apologizing for not coming out of his house and putting his kid in danger.

fast forward to november, 2010. i show up to one of my best friends wedding at a church in denver to decorate the reception hall. as soon as i get there, i see a guy that looks a lot like jeff. i started to freak out because as a cop, i carried a gun everywhere for just this situation…the situation where you run into someone who will recognize you and want to take revenge on you. but i’m not a cop anymore so i don't have a gun...and jeff doesn’t know that i've moved on in my life.

i had no clue what to do. at first, i denied that it was him. then i saw the scar on his forehead so there was no denying that it was him. for lack of a better plan, i just avoided him and prayed about what to do. that might sound lame but it’s what i did. i prayed. and i felt like i should talk to him. but i didn’t. i left…hoping that he’d leave too.

i came back to the church an hour or so later for the rehearsal and decided to search for jeff. i found him in the upstairs of the church, cleaning.

“hey jeff, do you remember me? i’m dan from the police department. how’s life?”

“yeah, i remember you. that was a crazy night, huh? this might sound weird but, thanks for arresting me. i had backslid (a christian word for reverting back to sin) and my life was a mess. that night was a wake up call and it got me back on the right track, so thanks.”

he offered me a seat and we sat and talked for about thirty minutes. we talked about him coming back to faith and me coming to faith. we talked about our stories. we talked about our dreams. we talked about what god was doing in our lives. and we talked about how god is a god of second chances. you see, jeff’s on staff at the church doing maintenance and men’s ministry and i’m working at a church and starting seminary.

“What’s the Lord doing in you? Been praying for you. Glad you're my brother.” –text message from jeff this afternoon.

god is love, nothing is impossible.