Life Behind His Shield: A Daughter’S Life with Her Father, a Police Officer
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About this ebook
If you have a family member who works as a police officer, firefighter, or member of a military branch, then you know that along with the pride you feel for the ones you love who serve, there are also grave fears and anxieties you experience as you consider their safety while on shift. How you handle those fears can either be detrimental to the health of your family, or incredibly redeeming and glorifying to Christ. My prayer is that you can see how my family used our fears for redemption and healing, allowing God to be glorified through this journey.
Meghan Alanis
Men and women who work as police officers, firefighters, members of a military branch, or in any other high-risk profession are truly answering a call from above. To knowingly put yourself in danger for the safety of others is a sacrifice that not everyone is equipped to make. Often the families of those who serve are left with a helpless feeling in this world that is out of control. It is only through a faith in God that we can cope with our loved ones being in harm’s way. Meghan’s father has been a police officer for almost thirty years. This is a story about growing up in his household and exploring how it shaped her life, her beliefs, and her faith in her heavenly father. Meghan lives in California. She is married and is the proud parent of one daughter, Ava. Her desire is for others to see Christ in her and in her marriage; her story is only told to glorify her loving God.
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Life Behind His Shield - Meghan Alanis
Copyright © 2013 Meghan Alanis.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4497-8811-7 (e)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-8812-4 (sc)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904710
WestBow Press rev. date: 3/20/2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Early Years
Chapter 2 Growing Up
Chapter 3 My New Reality
Chapter 4 The Fire
Chapter 5 The Call
Chapter 6 Building Lines of Communication
Chapter 7 Where We Are Now
Conclusion
To my father, Gaylon. With selflessness and bravery,
he serves God, his family, and his community.
I pray to be a little more like him in all I do.
FOREWORD
When a loved one is daily exposed to possible peril, it is difficult to ignore the fact that each goodbye may be the final one. In Life Behind his Shield, Meghan Alanis examines the angst she felt growing up as a police officer’s daughter. She relates how she kept quiet about the anxiety she faced each day, and how she tried to be strong
and obtain control over her life with perfectionistic behaviors.
Worry appears to be one of our strongest human tendencies. The Bible talks profusely about anxiety and overcoming fear. Even Christ Himself addressed fear and anxiety in 365 verses. Many people spend their lives worrying about the what ifs
of situations, and if these anxious feelings are suppressed without the individual addressing them, it can set the stage for anxiety disorders to develop.
Over time Meghan learned that she needed to express her feelings and process them with her counselors and family members. Gaining a realization that God is in control can relieve anxiety, in that we can trust Him with our daily needs, no matter how small or great.
I would recommend this book to family members of those who serve to protect the people of their community or country. I am convinced that they will identify with Meghan’s story, and will be able to glean comfort and help from her experiences. I also would recommend that those heroes who serve in the protection of others read this book, to gain insight into how their job affects their loved ones and to open conversations about this subject with their families.
Nancy C. Albers, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Fresno, California
2013
INTRODUCTION
So many families live with a parent who serves in some type of service role, especially armed forces. Children and spouses of police officers, firefighters, and members of the armed forces all live in a different world than everyone else.
From the outside looking in, our families appear happy normal. They typically make good money, live in beautiful houses in good school districts, wear nice clothes, and drive fancy cars. Thanks to the overtime that many police officers and firefighters work, many of our families enjoy exotic vacations, boating, skiing, and other pricey activities. Our moms or dads usually