Christian Living

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“Unlikely,” was the best answer to the question of Candace* becoming a policewoman. Her dad had been a detective, but Candace was on the wild side. In her youth, she had used alcohol and drugs. However, most of the craziness was finished in her teenage years.
One incident did come back to haunt her. She went with friends to watch a horror movie. It was a zombie film. Zombies are supposedly dead people, halfway revived in somewhat decomposed bodies, which drag themselves around attacking people. In this particular movie, the zombies were eating people, which got to Candace. She was almost ill from the dramatized cannibalism.
Years later, after a college softball scholarship and a few business endeavors following graduation, Candace decided to be a cop. She survived the police academy with her personality intact. She still had that wild streak, but it was calmer. Known for wearing cartoon-character tee shirts under her uniform, she laughed frequently with her co-officers at their experiences on the job. Apart from her time spent at work, you would never know she had anything to do with law enforcement.
One night on patrol, Candace received a call that a jeep had gone down an embankment off of the freeway. She was the first officer on the scene, and with her flashlight, she peered down the dark shallow ravine and noticed the jeep had flipped over.
As she made her way down the plant carpeted slope, she started hearing moaning from different directions. There was a low grunting noise to her right, an anguished moan from somewhere to the left, and thrashing movements under the jeep. Her flashlight threw light in every direction, trying to locate and identify the sounds.
The jeep had contained six occupants, most of whom had been thrown clear of the overturned vehicle. Slowly, they started to crawl up the hillside to Candace. Some limped, their bodies jerking with bruised or broken limbs, and others reached out their hands for help, all the while moaning in pain.
Candace pulled out her gun, not knowing what she was encountering. The whole scene brought back to her mind the horror movie she had seen so many years ago. Her legs were weak, her gun hand was shaking and she felt queasy. There she stood, alone in the dark, with people converging on her…like zombies! Fortunately for her, two back-up police units arrived to help. Candace regained her composure and starting helping the people while waiting for an ambulance.
Later, after laughing over her story, we all agreed that watching a scary movie is not such a harmless idea. How often we hear a sound or see a dark alley and immediately think something bad is “out there.” The decision to get scared lasted more than the two hour film. It left a life long mark.
Reminded of their future influences, I found myself praying for the ability to make better and wiser choices. How much better it would be for my even knee-jerk reactions to have the stamp of Jesus Christ on them! I discovered another reason to build my life around belonging to Christ and living in His love, peace and joy! Then when a strange situation comes my way, I’ll have a better chance of responding without fear or undue suspicion. “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12) Amen!

* Name changed for privacy reasons.

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