Are you as sick as I am of the constant, relentless negative tone of the campaign from all sides? The world is melting down, the nation is slipping into a recession — or worse — and there are so many wars, terrorist attacks, and slaughters that it tries the faith of a saint to believe that God has not abandoned us.
Take a break from the awfulness and glory in this small gesture by a teenage girl in Kansas City that had a huge impact on two police officers.
The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department posted a picture of a napkin on its Facebook page and it’s gotten hundreds of shares. On the napkin, was a message written to two officers by a KCK teen. Now they want to find her and give her a message of their own.
“We’re human too. We like to feel the love just like everybody else does,” said Officer Rance Quinn.
Officer Quinn hadn’t been feeling a whole lot of love, working in tense environments day in and day out, with people who are rarely happy to see him.
“It just seems like there’s a lot of anti-police type of activity going on. I know we’re unwanted but it makes us feel like we’re under-appreciated,” he said.
But last week, that all changed. Officer Quinn and his co-worker were on their lunch break, when a teenage girl approached their table.
“She laid the napkin kind of nonchalant on the table, looked at us and kept on walking,” he recalled.
They looked down and saw the message. Short and sweet, it read, “Thanks for keeping us safe.”
“By the time I looked over my shoulder I was able to give the girl a thumbs up and she smiled,” Quinn said.
Officer Quinn wishes he could’ve said more to the teen. A small gesture, that made a big impact. Officer Quinn now carries the napkin in his pocket.
“Carried it ever since,” he said.
So on the days he feels like giving up…
“It’s a good reminder.”
When Officer Quinn and his partner tried to pay for their lunch, the waitress told him the teen girl already did. Even though Officer Quinn couldn’t tell her this in person, he hopes she hears it.
“The message you gave to us that day was powerful. Don’t ever change who you are. Keep that with you through the rest of your life,” Quinn said.
In an age where some are trying to tie the hands of police, making it nearly impossible for them to be effective, while others go even further and call for their murder, this young woman reminds us why the police are there in the first place.
I’m sure you’ve seen those PSAs from Values.com with the uplifting messages. I love those spots because you could be in the middle of one of your worst days and after watching, your face breaks out in a smile.
Too often, we don’t look hard enough for good news. In these sad, dangerous times, perhaps it’s a good idea to make more of an effort to find the good in life.
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