Day 103: The deputy

Tonight was a struggle. I didn't step out of the house today until late. We'd had Thanksgiving here with Mary's family, so there was no reason to go anywhere. But the project called, so I was hoping quickly to find someone to speak to -- and then go home. Not the right attitude, I know.

Maybe that's why it was so difficult. God might have been teaching me a lesson. With nowhere that I really needed to go, I went to my normal places when such times arise. But there weren't that many people at QuikTrip, and the guy I had planned to pray for drove off as I pulled up to the pump.

Walmart was reasonably busy, but I didn't feel like a good opportunity came up. The clerk was way too busy to pray for. It still was Black Friday after all.

Finally, discouraged, I pulled into the Kwik Shop in Valley Center. I believe now it was part of God's plan because the timing couldn't have been any more perfect. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy was walking out of the store as I pulled up. I swung into the stall next to his and called out to him over the top of my mini-van.

Now the fact that he was a cop was important to me because police officers have been on my mind for for the past week. I don't know why, other than that I've seen a lot of them recently, many of them in positions where they would be available for a prayer. But I had passed up every opportunity.

When the deputy heard me calling out to him, he stopped and waited for me to come around the van. He was about 35, not a tall man but bulky. Cops probably are always like this: A tense look on his face until he figures out what you're up to. Deputy Delgado was like that. But once he understood I wanted to pray, his face lightened and he smiled broadly. "Sure!" he said. "That would be great."

So we bowed our heads, and I prayed for him, that God would keep him safe and help him in his work that night. He stretched out his hand when I finished. "Thank you. I really appreciate that," he said, and then he added, "My family really appreciates that."