I didn’t see it

“Have you ever seen heroin?” he asked. “Ummm not in real life, no” I replied. 

I had known about this officer from around the station, and because he was on my shift, but I was a trainee and I had never had a full conversation with him. We’ll call him Officer T. 

My Field Training officer was on vacation and the sergeant had me ride along with Officer T for the week. He was intimidating to say the least. I knew the kinds of “big” arrests he would get from working on the same shift, and I was eager to be a passenger and get to watch.

I was in phase three of a four phase training program. To be honest, I was so relieved to be riding with Officer T. My third phase training officer was so hard ! I know it was for my own good and he was molding me into a well rounded officer, but every single shift was tough. So this break , riding along as a passenger, was a treat. 

I was literally just along for the ride. I don’t remember the sequence of events that week, but I do remember how kind Officer T was. He asked me questions of what I had been exposed to as an officer, and asked me if there was anything I had not done that he could show me how to do. I started asking him about narcotics and the charges that related to them. That is how the question asking me if I had ever seen heroin came up. 

I don’t remember if it was that first shift, or another shift that week, but eventually we stopped a man who had heroin on him. Officer T found it and called me over. He explained why it looked the way it did, why it smelled the way it does and showed me what questions to ask in order to affect an arrest. Seems strange, but it was actually so exciting for me! I was thrilled to have learned something new and looked forward to a time when I could find it and get it off the streets myself.  

I do not remember any other specific event from those four days I was a ride along with Officer T. But once I was of field training, I considered him a friend and would ask him questions when I needed help. Four years later, Officer T became the father of our oldest son and four months after that, my husband. 

Proverbs 16:9 tells us “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps”. Officer T and I had completely different goals and ideas for our lives the day I sat passenger in his police car. But the Lord intricately brought us together through WILD circumstances, and now we are one flesh. God is good, all the time, even when we don’t know him, choose to obey him or see it. He will work all things together for His glory!