This morning I had another wonderful fellowship experience hosted by a former fellow Deputy and his wife. They have hosted a series of three “gatherings” of law enforcement related folks at their home to share some Christian music, and hear a message.
Jeff feels this is a calling to do, patterned after both motorcycle and cowboy Christian gatherings he has attended. This is my second time attending his event. Jeff and Robin have a wonderful intimate front yard in the country, with heavy shade which is nice this time of year. It was warm, yet not uncomfortable at all.
Jeff, an accomplished musician, starts us with some singing, followed a message from Pastor Ken Bowden (also retired Fresno S.O.).
It’s much like a mini-church service. This message focused on how we deal with adversity, and that God doesn’t make things okay for us, he makes sure we are okay no matter how things turns out.
And of course we conclude we some potluck style treats (Kari’s oatmeal cookies were my contribution) and fellowship with each other—heavily filled with life stories or “war stories” from our past.
Jeff usually shares a story about me when I was his primary Field Training Officer when he left Selma P.D. and came to Fresno S.O. Hopefully he tells the story in better detail as a eulogy at my final services. It essentially tells how he was an experienced officer in Selma and when came into his first Briefing with us, he felt pretty anxious about the experience and seniority of the Deputies in the room. He was blown away after Briefing when I tossed him the patrol car keys and said he was driving on day one, adding that I figured he already knew the basics of the job, I just wanted to show him how we did it. Honestly, I had forgotten this story until Jeff posted it on a Facebook page for retired California law enforcement, in response to someone asking about their experiences after lateraling to a different agency. I was then, and always will be, humbled when he tells it.
Thank you Jeff and Robin!
I’m already looking forward to the next gathering.
