I have tears in my eyes.
Having just pulled into Eugene, Oregon last night, my family has not yet found a place to stay. Not wanting to burn through my savings by spending money each night on a hotel room, we decided to sleep in our car in the parking lot of Alton Baker Park. At 10:30 a police officer rolled up and shone his spotlight in my car. He walked over and I asked what I could do for him and if there was a problem. He told me the park closed at 11pm and that I couldn’t stay there. I had my 4 year old curled up sleeping on my lap and my 2 year old was sleeping on my wife’s lap in the passenger seat. When he saw the kids he told me that he was going to buy us a hotel room. I told him that I didn’t want that and that I had money in the bank and would feel guilty taking his charity. I told him we just got off the road from Alaska and we’re still looking for a place to rent. He told me he’d like to do it anyways and that the police department had a fund just for situations like this. I told him that I appreciated his kindness but that I would rather not. I told him that I was a former marine trying to take care of my own business and not looking for welfare. He told me he was a marine as well. After talking for a minute it turns out we were both in the same unit, he about 10 years before me. We both spent time in Okinawa, and other places in Asia and through conversation discovered we had done a lot of same things in the Marine Corps.
He told me to follow him, so I did, and he took us to a nice hotel and paid for a couple nights out of his own pocket. Holy loving lucky stars. I got tears in my eyes.
Don’t hate on the police. They are there for you when you need them. There are bad characters in all walks of life, but never believe that the police are there to hurt you. Those men and women who choose to wear body armor and help people do so with good courageous hearts. I am so thankful for this gift of love I have been given tonight. I am grateful and feel humbled by this man’s generosity and humanity. I am ashamed that I have not done better in life so that I could be the one who lends the helping hand. That’s all I really want to do anyways. To help and serve others so that I can be there to lift people up daily and in times of need.
I have tears in my eyes, but they are good tears. Tears of hope, gratitude and renewed courage to continue becoming a better man for myself, my family and the world around me.
Courtesy of Robert Wood