The Heart Beyond the Badge

By Sam Cielakie

Sam Cielakie, a longtime police officer, shares thirty-one uplifting devotionals for those serving in law enforcement.

Drawing on his experiences with the patrol division, criminal investigations, and administrative services, he highlights struggles, challenges, and life lessons from his career while relating them to Scripture and the Word of God.

Some of the insights he shares include:
• It’s the silence before the storm that keeps us on edge.
• We need to focus on Jesus when stressors overtake us.
• Being lost is not bad when we have guidance.

The author also emphasizes that we must remember that our lives are not defined by being law enforcement officers. When we go home, we have to be husbands, wives, dads, or moms. We are people foremost and should never be branded only by the badge we wear.

After each devotional, the author includes a prayer and further reading from the Bible, so you can capitalize on your learning and move closer to the Lord.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664277304

Sam Cielakie

Sam Cielakie has been in law enforcement since January 1999. He is a first sergeant with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He has held positions in patrol, criminal investigations, and administrative services. He graduated from Liberty University with a Master of Arts in human service counseling, specializing in law enforcement, and earned a Master of Science in criminal justice with a specialty in forensic psychology.

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Copyright © 2022 Sam Cielakie.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7731-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7732-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7730-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022916298

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/28/2022

Contents

Chapter 1 Lonely Road

Chapter 2 Anxiety Overwhelms

Chapter 3 Lost

Chapter 4 Mistakes Made

Chapter 5 Should Haves

Chapter 6 Hard Times

Chapter 7 Guarded

Chapter 8 Accidents

Chapter 9 Tough Times

Chapter 10 What Just Happened?

Chapter 11 Overworked and Underpaid

Chapter 12 Dirty

Chapter 13 Worn

Chapter 14 Hats

Chapter 15 Partners

Chapter 16 Pursuit

Chapter 17 Identity

Chapter 18 You Forgot What?

Chapter 19 He Did It!

Chapter 20 Hanging by a Thread

Chapter 21 Seen

Chapter 22 Habits

Chapter 23 Loss

Chapter 24 Voiceless

Chapter 25 The End

Chapter 26 Stress Relief

Chapter 27 Peek-a-Boo

Chapter 28 Broken Arrow

Chapter 29 B.O.L.O

Chapter 30 Language

Chapter 31 Saving Lives

This is

dedicated to the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in the line of duty serving their communities.

"Greater love has no on than this, that

someone lay down his life for his friends."

—John 15:13

Chapter 1

Lonely Road

I remember many days when I worked midnights. The county I worked in was very rural in the west end of my jurisdiction. At 2:00 a.m., there I was driving all alone with no signs of movement or life in sight. The silence of the radio and the winding roads reminded me of how alone I was. It is often like that in police work. We have much support from many people, including the citizens we serve and our coworkers, friends, and families, yet it is often a pit of loneliness inside our four-doored offices. Law enforcement is a quiet and lonely occupation. Police work is not only a job—it becomes a calling. It is something that we get dressed for, leaving our homes and families and not knowing if we will return. It is about service, it’s about passion, and it’s about doing what many would never want to do.

It’s the silence before the storm that keeps us on edge. Even when we feel the loneliness, calls happen, and we must have the best mindset in order to be safe and get the job done. We never know when we will have to respond to different situations and face all kinds of problems. It is important to know and understand that we do not have to deal with these horrific situations on our own. That is why police officers often struggle so much in their personal lives. We always try to help others and never seek the help that we need in order to get through this career.

I am reminded of Isaiah 41:10, which says, Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. When you signed up for this career, you never knew how disheartening this profession could be. While God never promised us an easy life in our careers or in our personal lives, He promised us a life with Him if we accept His Son and give our lives to the Creator God. Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. God’s grace is our salvation, and our loneliness can fade if we know that Christ is living in us. Remind yourself today that your strength comes from the Creator God, and He will uphold you as you serve your communities and serve all those who you come in contact with today.

Prayer: God give me the strength to persevere in my job as a public servant. Take away loneliness and help me rely on You for my power to assist and serve those who are in need. Thank You for loving me and sending Jesus to show me how to be the best public servant.

Daily Reading: Isaiah 41.

Chapter 2

Anxiety Overwhelms

W ith every call, there seems to be a series of patterns and thoughts that run rampant through our minds. It never seems to fail that, as police, we tend to watch videos that involve worst-case scenarios and that often end in officer-involved shootings and officers being hurt or killed. It’s nuts,