My husband and I flew out of state a few days ago to see my son’s police badge pinning ceremony.  In all likelihood, he will stay at this department for a career; since we had been unable to attend his badge pinning at his first department two years earlier, we were absolutely going to be there for this one.

My son and his wife picked us up from the airport the night before the ceremony.  The next morning, we went over to the courthouse early to be sure we were there in plenty of time.  There was a hushed but excited buzz of voices among those of us who were waiting out in the foyer for the courtroom to open.

The ceremony is the culmination of a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work.  The competition is stiff to get onto police departments and every one of the “soon to be sworn” officers had reason to be proud.  Even though my son was a police officer in another state for two years, it was still difficult to transfer, even with experience.  My son worked diligently to get this position and so we were all delighted for him.

Just before the 10am swearing in ceremony, we family members were ushered into the courtroom.  It was sobering to look around at the judge’s bench and the jury area.  I had a flashback of the last time I was in a courtroom over three years ago when we saw our older daughter brought in for sentencing, shackled at wrists, waist and ankles.  I quickly brushed that image from my mind; we were here for a happier occasion.

The second highest ranking police officer in the department gave some remarks before the swearing-in ceremony.  He got choked up at one point speaking about bringing this group of 5 young men onto the department’s police force.  I was touched to see the emotion and could tell he genuinely cared about the men and women under his command.  Leadership in any organization is important and particularly in a police department.  Knowing my son, I know that this is not just a job; the department becomes a tightly knit brotherhood of officers that have each other’s backs.

The presiding judge had the group of five young men all raise their hands together and then led them in reciting the oath they were taking.  When finished, each newly sworn-in officer had a family member pin on their badge.  My son’s wife did the pinning while of course my husband and I took pictures and video of the moment.

What a proud moment to see our son sworn in as a police officer!  We cheered for him for a decade as he focused on his dream of becoming a police officer; it was so special to be there in that courtroom for him as a culmination of all that he had striven toward.

We are not blind to the fact that there is danger in the profession that he has chosen.  We don’t know every situation that he will face in his career at that department but trust his training and his ability to handle what comes up.  He will have the strength of the department behind him and he has the unwavering support of his wife and of his family.  Above all, we know that our son trusts that God has complete control of his life; he knows that nothing will happen that has not already passed through God’s sovereign will.  We rest in that ourselves.