I swore I would never do it again, but I did.  I let go of updating the blog for what seemed like one day and now it has been three months.

Where to begin? Bruce started a wonderful new job just over the border in northern North Carolina.  He loves what he does and they love him.  If you told me a few months back that he would be working putting spy and communication equipment on aerostats, I would have said you were crazy.

Okay – what (you are asking) is an aerostat?  I’m glad you asked. A dirigible is a lighter than aircraft.  An aerostat is a kind of dirigible which doesn’t fly around like the Good Year Blimp does. Instead, aerostats are tethered to the ground to stay in place to hoist something aloft and keep it there. A blimp has just an outer shell and is filled with helium. 

The Hindenburg, of “oh the humanity” fame, is not a blimp, but actually a rigid airship.  If you recall the famous picture where the Hindenburg falls to earth in Lakehurst New Jersey, you can see the frame as the outer shell and the helium burns.  The Goodyear Blimp doesn’t have that shell.  There will be a test on this later.

After applying for so many jobs, this one came to him via a headhunter.  He never applied for it.  As a submariner, I’m sure that he never thought he’d be qualified for such a thing.  God has such a sense of humor.  There were 5 possible offers on the table.  Four of them involved the military contracting world.  Then the aerostat company came in out of left field.  I discounted it, but told God that I was open to whatever he had for us.  This was it.

I continue to love my job in the Sex Offender Investigative Unit of the state police agency which doesn’t like us to mention it directly in social media.  Valor, Service, Pride…that’s all I’ll say, you can figure it out!

People are often surprised that I find my job so rewarding.  They cite the kind of folks they imagine that I work around and the danger involved.  While I suppose there is some danger, the folks would surprise you.  Most of them are pretty much like you and I are.  They are also sinners, many of whom are now reformed and redeemed. 

What I didnt realize was that sex offenders are the lepers of modern society.  They are never forgiven by others and wear a stigma which makes their lives difficult forever.  And I do mean forever.  Offenses vary from the very minor to terribly heinous, but all of the offenders appear on the same Internet list with their picture, home, and work addresses disclosed. Not only are they stigmatized, but their entire families often are, too.

I received a touching Christmas card from one of them; “Thank you, Officer Bremer, for treating me like a human being.”  The job is not what I thought it would be and affords me many, many opportunities for ministry.

During this transition to a new year, I’ve spent some time in thought and prayer to figure out what I need to work on in 2013. Opportunity to seize more of what God has for me stretches before me. While there is room for much improvement, I have narrowed my focus down to a few areas of concentration which center around mindfulness and avoiding rushing.  I’ve come to realize that nothing, absolutely nothing, is accomplished when I rush.

I am also choosing to stay focused on people when I am with them.  I want to be engaged with and on people, whether loved ones, neighbor children or the public I serve.  Often, I am trying to multi-task or rushing through what folks are telling to get on to the next thing. 

I realized in December that I was doing that to a child.  I stopped myself.  That day after Sandy Hook, I realized that she was only there in front of me, eyes expectantly locked on mine, a beautiful 6 year old, for that moment.  She was more important than my cell phone, the garbage that needed to be emptied, and the hundred things that press me in at the holidays.

This year I will slow down.  I will fully engage with everything around me. I will see the beauty in the small things.  That’s my choice.