FAITH NEWS SERVICE – The nature of first-responder work and the culture that goes with it can be isolating. “A strong support network is critical for first responders to maintain good mental health,” says Sarah Guenette in her article “The Partner at Home” (Police1).*
Author and speaker Lauren Forbus knows this firsthand, and in her debut devotional We Walk This Line, Lauren’s desire is to come alongside couples and families fulfilling the call to serve.
Having grown up with a dad in law enforcement, Lauren expected the transition from daughter of a sheriff’s deputy to wife of a sheriff’s deputy would be easy peasy. Boy, was she wrong. She experienced the fear and loneliness known to many first-responder spouses, and she realized she and her husband couldn’t walk the line alone. They implemented strategies to help their marriage thrive, found backup from other law-enforcement families, and grounded themselves in the Word of God.
In her transparent, grace-filled, and sometimes humorous interactive devotional, Lauren offers a lifeline for first responders and their spouses to reconnect and deal with their challenges head on.
“My goal with We Walk This Line,” Lauren says, “is to support and encourage first responders and their families across the country in a societal climate that does not.” After she married a sheriff’s deputy and looked for support, she found very few resources, which led her to a ministry to connect and encourage other law enforcement spouses.
“I relied upon successful strategies that were used by my parents as well as a few of my own to build healthy relationships. I found that these strategies were also helpful to other first responder families, and began training officers and their spouses. My wish is that other families will find strength and assurance that they are not alone in their concerns.”
She covers topics such as how to keep from being ships that pass in the night; how to deal with seeing the worst in people every day; how to keep truth and transparency the focus of the relationship; what happens when it’s your own worst-case scenario; and how to stay healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Written with candidness, grace, and humor, We Walk This Line is meant to serve as a pathway for first responders and their spouses to open the lines of communication, reconnect, and deal head on with their challenges.
Author bio
Lauren Forbus grew up in law-enforcement family and then married a sheriff’s deputy—and now she speaks to first-responder families nationwide on how to maintain healthy relationships. Lauren lives in Sparks, Nevada, where she enjoys teaching middle school students—who laugh at her lame jokes. When she isn’t teaching or speaking, Lauren spends time crafting, crocheting, and volunteering for the Reno Rodeo and Northern Nevada chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). Lauren has one daughter, and their family always includes at least one dog. Find out more about Lauren at lifebehindtheblue.com.
Contact Lauren at tuckerl52@outlook.com
