There's Something to be Said....

The best thing about life is the instances and moments that engrave our soul and allow us to engrave another's.

What you see in the picture of this post is a proud Officer of 16 years. What this picture can't show you are all the memories he left behind and the lives he touched. Coming from a family that proudly served the community, it would only make sense that Officer Blackburn would follow in the steps of his father. In fact, I remember the first time I ever met Officer Blackburn. With a puffed chest and pride in his eyes, he told me how his father was also a Police Officer. And now, I am grateful that is something I can still vividly see in my mind.

"You're doing great, you're going to make a great Police Officer."

There's something to be said about Officer Blackburn's smile. That smile in the picture you see, is the same smile he held when he was faced with conflict. He was good under pressure and an honest man. Officer Blackburn to me was someone I would consider fair and willing to hear all sides. He was a man who seen the best in people. How do I know? Because he seen the best in me. And I'm not much. That smile was the same smile he had when he told me I was doing a great job. The same smile that told me I was going to make a great Police Officer. And his eyes, the same caring look when he did his best to stand up for me. He never questioned my integrity, he just knew I was meant to stay and he fought for me. Officer Blackburn was someone I knew I would always have the upmost respect for. He wasn't someone who just shut the door behind me when I left. Instead, he reached out to me and said if I ever needed him he was just a call away.

There's Something to be said in how we love others......

And I strongly believe Kendal Blackburn was someone who displayed himself through his actions. He didn't just say who he was and what he was going to do, he proved it through his actions. Officer Blackburn loved people in a way that now leaves a very heavy feeling on the heart. The world needed more of him. But, I guess God had plans we just couldn't understand.

I'm sad today. I'm sad because Kendal Blackburn wasn't just a Police Officer. That was a job he did, and well. A job that he was proud of and the community loved him for. Kendal Blackburn was a husband, father, friend and so much more. Officer Blackburn was the type of Officer this world needed because he still had passion for his career. I imagine that if Officer Blackburn could tell you how he would die it may have been something along the lines of, dying in the line of fire, saving the life of someone he didn't know, taking a bullet for his partner or old age after a long life living and loving. I will remember this man by the impact he made in my life in the short time I got to know him. And today I pray for comfort for his loved ones. Because there's something to be said about a man like that.

Rest in peace.