PROBLEMS... OPPORTUNITIES

Problems come into our lives so that we will work on the challenge and find solutions, better methods to do things and growth in ourselves.  Problems are opportunities.

I have a problem for which I am requesting a solution from you... I need to hear from a Peace Keeper in Afghanistan that would be willing to receive a shipment of books titled NAVAJO HEAT by a dear friend, Mary-Helen Madrid Null.  I read the book last year and found it to be very interesting.  It is about a Police Chief of a law enforcement department on a Navajo Indian Nation in the southwest of the USA.  He is a Viet Nam vet, former Navy Seal and CIA Black Ops and a very interesting character.  The other major character in the book is a female Forensic Psychologist/Prison Chaplain/local physician with whom the Chief works on criminal cases.  I greatly enjoyed the characters and their inter-action.  If someone is interested in receiving and distributing the books they will be shipped to you as quickly as possible.  It would be great if we had someone in Afghanistan with an APO or a contractor with contacts that could get them shipped by air to Afghanistan and then quickly distributed.  The books are a gift to Peace Keepers to bring some pleasure into their lives as they serve in foreign fields.

This week has been another of those interesting weeks that brought numerous challenges.  Some of these challenges are mine to solve.  Still others are mine to point out to others because I have neither power nor position to bring the solutions.  I have discovered the problems... I have described the problems... I have requested and recommended solutions and passed it on up the chain-of-command to see what will transpire.  Now I must have patience and perseverance while I wait.

Another is a problem presented to me by a friend who wants a specific model of an old steam locomotive to give to a special person in their life.  He has asked that I help him if possible.  My subconscious mind is constantly working for a solution and occasionally it surfaces for conscious thought and evaluation... Then it submerges again for percolation.  A solution will come for this has been a method I have used for most of my life for problem solving when I am to be the one to find the solution and meet the need.  It has been my experience that most successful Peace Keepers use this method also.  This is part of the adventure.

Today my phone rings and the voice of a stranger comes through... It is a troubled voice.  It seems they have made many calls but I am the only live person to answer a phone that they have called.  All other efforts reached either no answer at all or an answering machine.  I was not supposed to be here today but another problem had kept me here from work and I was available to the caller.  I listened to the description of the need... I had no immediate remedy for the need of the caller but I did what I could do... I prayed with and for the caller on the phone and for guidance for me if I were to have a part in meeting the need.  As soon as I hung up the phone an inspiration struck me and I was impressed to call someone who might have access to the needed resources.  The impression was right on target... They could and would meet the immediate need... And would do it right away.

By the nature of our jobs we are constantly placed into situations requiring evaluation and resolution.  Sometimes all of the things that are supposed to assist us in arriving at the solution do not work.  We have to either become innovative... Or just go away and leave the problem unresolved.  I choose to be innovative and proactive.  In my street job I patrol alone looking for the types of problems that are mine to deal with.  Sometimes I find problems that I have been ordered to refer to others for resolution.  In the past two weeks I have found five such problems and referred them to others to handle.  Each of those others handled the same type problem in a manner different than the other four.  No two were alike.  Each one handled the situation as they saw fit to handle it and I left it to them and went on about my duties.

One case I found should have been on record and the details readily available to me but no one could find such a record.  I even did some of the research myself.  When no records were found to be available I sought the assistance of a Peace Keeper coming on the shift after mine to do a basic task for me so that I could complete the process next week when I return to duty.  When I reported for a special assignment last night I found that he had taken care of the initial steps toward the solution and furnished what I would need to complete the task next week.  I am most thankful that cooperation and camaraderie are available to us in the efforts of keeping the peace if we are cooperative and willing to ask for assistance when we need it.

Last night late we conducted a Traffic Check Point.  I find it amazing how many people are actually drinking alcoholic beverages and driving... And though we found no one actually drunk according to the specifications of the law, some were so much impaired that they were given a choice of getting someone to come and pick them up or being arrested.  Those who could not get rides left their cars to be towed and walked to someplace where they could spend the night and retrieve their car the next day.

I normally work the day shift and have not been on nights since summer.  I was invited to assist in the check point by the late shift supervisor.  I am not allowed to work holidays except by specific authorization so I received the authorization of my supervisor to work the special detail.  I was also given permission to double right back this morning to work today to make up for lost time due to the holiday but one hour sleep was not enough and I was wise enough to not go in to duty today.  Had I gone to duty I would have missed two very important phone calls and missed the opportunity to answer the phone for the family in desperate need that I was able to refer to a resource.  Problems... and solutions.

I have studied the lives of many people who have made a great difference in the lives of others.  All of them have the same basic attributes.  They are people of faith... That is they believe the is always a solution for every problem and... They never quit as long as they can move and function.   They also believe that they are here to accomplish things for the benefit of others and they are very seldom people who are overly concerned with their own wants and desires while they are in the service of taking care of the needs of others... Whether those others are one person or a nation or any combination between those two extremes.  Too often I find that the problem solvers do not take the best care of themselves.  That was a hard lesson for me to learn and it seems to be hard for most caregivers to learn.  Contrary to the opinion of some people, Peace Keepers are most definitely care givers... And most Peace Keepers will give care for others even to their own detriment... Which is why peace keeping has cost so many lives over the course of every nation.

We have finished the great day of Thanksgiving... We have entered into the frenzied day of shopping after Thanksgiving... We have officially opened the end of the year holiday season.  Most of us will live at a much faster pace until after New Years Day.
In the midst of all the activity some of us will work too much and rest too little.  We could resolve this end of the year load by treating every day the same as we treat these year end holidays.  We could solve a lot of the stress by treating the people in our lives with the same care and concern every day that we give to them on these few special days.  We could say "Thank you" and "How are you?" more often and mean it.

The only gift I have to give to you is myself and my care and concern for you.  To carry all of you to the Throne of Grace daily in my prayers is the greatest work that I am capable of performing.  Even if I wanted to do otherwise, finances do not allow it.  My efforts to write some useful words... My efforts to keep the peace through teaching, instruction and enforcing safety are the best services that I have to give to anyone.  My dedication to your right to peace, safety, liberty and justice will be the only true legacy that I will be able to leave when I am here no more.  I pass through each moment but one time... I want to make sure someone had the opportunity to benefit from as many of those moments as possible.

In the final analysis of all of life... Mine, yours, everyone's life... The only thing that will really matter is how much we were able to accomplish that benefited the lives that we touched on our journey through this place and time.

The people of this type are the ones that are most prominent in my memory.  They did something to convey some lasting benefit to me.  Most of them were teachers or instructors of one kind or another... They left indelible, permanent impressions.  The effect they had formed me and shaped me into the man that I am.  The only way I can ever repay any of the debt that I owe to them by my own choice is to convey as much of the good that they instilled into me to others who will receive it... and to do all of the good that I can do whether anyone else agrees with me or not.  Life is what you make of it and we... You and I... Are the only ones who can make anything of our own lives.

All Peace Keepers have given a great gift to those in our world.  We give that great benefit because we choose to give it.  I know the cost of the giving... I know it from a forty five year career.  Some have given the ultimate gift and they are with us no more here, except in memory.  For each of them I am thankful.  Some of you have given until you can give no more... For every one of you I am thankful.  Some of you have given and are still giving... For you I am thankful for I am part of you.  Some are in training preparing to give... For each of you I am thankful.  I am also thankful for all of those who supported us and kept the home fires burning and the family together while we were doing battle with evil to allow them to have the best chance at a full life that we could secure for them.

As you read this, know that you are loved, appreciated, cared for, cared about and prayed for... Daily!  If I might ever be able to do anything for you please call or write and I will see what I can do.

I have established some great and lasting friendships through these weekly messages... Friendships that I treasure very deeply.  To the one who told me to rest in the shade occasionally... Thanks... I did that today.

As I write I experience an affinity with Paul the Apostle... There were many that he wanted to see but could not.  He could communicate through the written word.  So as much as I would like to see you and converse with you in person, the only medium that I have to enable me to communicate with all of you is the written word and the electronic medium of the computer... I am most thankful for this medium and its usefulness in this day.

"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"  Be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary.  Take the very best possible care of you as you care for and about others.  Se to the welfare of your spirit for you must be spiritually strong to achieve success.

As it has always been... So it still is...

"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN."  Sun tzu

ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!

WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics...  it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. 
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.]

I represent, write for... and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve...
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers, 
VIRGINIA STATE POLICE ALUMNI,
RETIRED VB Police Officer, Certified Police Instructor,
Community Services Officer
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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