February 28, 2025 • 35 mins
This week on Open Seat, we welcome Justin Mazur, a state police officer with a profound connection to his faith. Justin shares his journey from growing up in metro Detroit to meeting his wife at Wayne State University, playing professional baseball, and ultimately joining the state police. Justin illustrates how his faith has guided him through some of the darkest moments of his career, offering hope and resilience to those around him, even those he arrests. He discusses the significant role his parents played in shaping his beliefs, the impact of his daughter's curiosity on his faith, and the importance of seeing Jesus in everyone he encounters. You won't want to miss this authentic conversations about the power of faith and navigating life's challenges.
This is a podcast of Holy Family Parish, located in Adrian MI. We are a Catholic people, not a place, striving to Live Jesus through celebrating the sacraments and forming disciples in Adrian and beyond.
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Open Seat es un podcast Parroquia de la Sagrada Familia ubicada en Adrian, Michigan. Somos un pueblo católico, no un lugar, que se esfuerza por vivir a Jesús celebrando los sacramentos y formando discípulos en Adrian y más allá.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Justin (00:00):
I've had some of the greatest stories of all time
(00:02):
but unfortunately part of myjob is some of the darkest
stories of people's days.
But through all that, you canreally see how Jesus is in
and around all of it, whichis really what's pretty much
held me together becauseyou hear of tragic suicidal
stories from police officersbut for whatever reason,
it sure feels like there'salways a presence with you.
Katie (00:20):
Welcome to Open Seat, the podcast where we
create a space for authenticconversations about faith,
unfiltered and unapologetic.
Here, we believe thatevery story matters.
Whether you're questioning,seeking, or steadfast in
your beliefs, you'll findsomething relatable in
these heartfelt discussions.
(00:41):
So grab your seat, getcomfortable, and let's
dive into today's storyhere at Open Seat.
Today on the podcastwe have Justin Mazur.
Why don't you just
Justin (00:55):
tell us a little bit
Katie (00:56):
who you
Justin (00:56):
you are?
well, it's apleasure to be here.
I didn't think I'd ever behere, but, like you said,
my name's Justin Mazur.
I'm not from the Adrian area.
My wife's name's, well,Brooke Mazur, now before
Brooke Kirkendall.
She comes from partof the Marvin family.
So, really ingrainedinto like, the area.
I grew up in themetro Detroit area.
Mother, father, two brothers.
38 years old.
I Worked for the state police.
(01:17):
I'm with state trooper,live around the area now.
well that's a
Katie (01:20):
difference, right?
From Detroit to thebooming metropolis of
Justin (01:23):
Adrian.
Yeah.
That, that, it'sa story in itself.
Right?
I met my wife at WayneState University.
We were both athletesand everything.
So we developed ourrelationship there.
Afterwards, playedprofessional baseball
for a few years.
Never made it to likethe major leagues.
Just had a cup of coffeein the minor leagues.
But then, at the age oflike 25, Brooke was like,
we're probably gonna haveto make a run of this.
You're gonna need insuranceand a good stable job.
(01:44):
Figure something else out.
Well, gotta have somekind of guiding force.
The Lord only speaks toyou when he needs to.
So.
after that, my dad waslike, hey, the state
police are hiring.
Sounds like a goodthing you'd be into.
Easy enough, sign up for that.
And, out of recruit school,you have an opportunity to
select where you want to go.
And I know the Detroitarea and Brooke was like,
we're not doing that.
She was like, well, we usedto vacation up in the U.P.
(02:06):
I'm like, well, I'vebeen pretty much all
over the United Statesplaying baseball.
I've never been tothe U. P. you know,
let's, let's do that.
So in 2013, we movedup to Sault Sainte.
Marie.
And if you recall around thattime, it was probably one of
the worst winters we've had.
And for like the fivegreat lakes froze.
And I forget what theweather was like down here.
We had over 300 inchesof snow and Brooke
learned really quickly.
Like this was not the bestidea, as everything goes,
(02:29):
the summers are great,but eventually family
circumstances draw you backdown and that's kind of how
we came back around hereand ever since then it's
been, you know, we got toexperience the last a few
years of her grandfather'slife down here moved in right
next to them and everythingand I never really Had a
special relationship withany of my grandparents to
that degree Coming home andyou know seeing Jack Marvin
(02:52):
out in the farm every singleday You learn a lot about
life about life They broughtBrooke more into the faith.
She grew up Catholic justlike me, but kind of like,
wandered away a littlebit, in the middle of life.
But, when we got together,I've pretty much had a stable
relationship with the Lord.
Her grandparents went tochurch every morning at like
7 (03:07):
30 I think at the time.
We'd get breakfast beforeor after and we'd be here.
So it's like, if youwant to hang out with
me more, I'm going to bewith your grandparents.
So she gets pulled backinto the church and it's
kind of been the ride.
Katie (03:17):
So you have had a strong relationship
with the Lord, what doyou think sustained that?
Justin (03:22):
Well, my mother, that's been my moral
compass from day one.
And it's not the same fortwo of my other brothers.
So I was the first born.
There's a four yearseparation between me
and my second brother.
And they're likethe Irish Twins.
Pretty darn close in time.
They got me in, I was intoMontessori for a while,
then went to public schoolfor a minute, and even
that difference was a lotat that time, when you're
(03:44):
still trying to learnyourself and your faith.
But then thankfully,she put me into Catholic
school for high school.
And that really rooted me.
Because it was an all boysCatholic school, and at the
time, right, it's like, thisis such a terrible decision.
Why are you doing this?
I'm missing out on this,that, and the other thing.
But looking back as aparent now, you're like,
that's the greatest giftyou've ever given me.
But the whole time, It was,unless you're dead, you're
going to church or you'regoing to school was the thing.
(04:06):
My father grew up in aCatholic faith, but it was
never like, at least forhim, the number one thing.
So he would be like, probablylike most fathers of the
generation were at church.
He's just, kind of noddingand everything, right?
But he's there.
It's presence.
You learn that from your father.
It doesn't matter whatneeds to be done right now.
You do it, right?
So my mother and myfather establishing that
(04:27):
allowed me the plentyof time and opportunity
to grow in my own faith.
And then, through baseball,traveling the country,
just talking to peopleand just seeing how the
Lord works through others,having the unbelievable
opportunity of most gamesare in the afternoon.
I got to see, hundreds ofdifferent parishes across
the U. S. and just how everydifferent priest does it.
(04:47):
How every different communitycomes together and that
just kind of works intowhat I do now for a living.
And, everyone does my job alittle bit differently and,
I don't know, I've had, beendoing it now for 12 years.
I've had some of the greateststories of all time and,
but unfortunately part of myjob is some of the darkest
stories of people's days.
But through all that, you canreally see how Jesus is in
(05:08):
and around all of it, whichis really what's pretty much
held me together becauseyou hear of tragic suicidal
stories from police officersor people in the military,
but for whatever reason,I don't want to say I'm
protected by any means, butit sure feels like there's
always a presence with you.
Katie (05:21):
It's good to know that when we pray those, those
Justin (05:24):
prayers, right, the,
Katie (05:25):
blue mass or, we honor the, police officers.
We do the police officerluncheon here at the parish.
So it's good to know thatour prayers are protecting
people and especially our
Justin (05:36):
own.
Oh yeah.
Katie (05:37):
Like people we see every Sunday, because
it's so nice to see youand your wife and, and
Haley out there on Sunday
Justin (05:44):
It is really fun cause when you first come and
bringing Brooke back into it.
And we, you know, hergrandparents like to sit a
little further back, but it'sso funny Catholics, right?
It's like, we sit here andwe've always sat here and
then like COVID happensand, Haley comes around
and she wants to sit upfront and it's like, well,
that's, you know, people situp front, she's, she
wants to be in part of thefaith or let's get her up there.
Right.
Right And she becomes likea namestay and everyone's
(06:07):
like, Oh my God, it's so goodto see her when she's there.
And she's so such agood kid and everything.
And you're just.
As a parent, right?
Just battling with her everysingle Mass, just like,
don't make a scene, but,but play and be a child that
appreciate for what it is.
She's inquisitive and,and now it's, finding
the faith through herand those experiences.
a funny story a little whileback, I forget what they are.
(06:28):
They're like thetraveling, playing.
they bring all thedifferent wooden
sculptures and everythingto the church and
you can buy them.
Yeah, And I first cameacross them in Arizona and
bought a whole, spent way toomuch money, bought a whole
bunch of really nice stuff.
And then it was yearsand they came right back
here and I was like, ohmy God, this is great.
Didn't have the fundsthat I did at the time.
Right?
We just got asmall little cross.
So Haley was like,can we get it blessed?
(06:49):
Absolutely.
So Father Mike'sthere, blesses it for
us and everything.
And again, finding thefaith through your kids,
we're outside, we live ona few acres, let the dogs
run all around, we're justright outside of Adrian,
but we have family like alittle ways down the hill,
and didn't know they wereoutside Brooke's cousins were
outside, and their nephewswere outside Did not know they
were just petrified of dogs.
(07:09):
So dogs are runningall around, big dogs.
Right?
A Newfoundland and everything,a German Shepherd, and
they're just having a blast.
And I'm outside burningstuff, not paying any
attention to anything.
And then all of a suddenthe dogs lock onto them
and start running at them.
And in the moment I'mlike, this is not good.
Because I could hearBrooke's cousin yelling
like, Stop your dogs!they're heat seeking missiles.
So in the the chaos thatthat is Hailey and just
(07:31):
the infinite wisdom ofthe Lord, like just goes,
dad, I got this right.
And she has her cross in herhands and like she just raises
her hands up like this, andthe dogs just come to a halt.
Oh.
And I'm like, you know,in the moment, right?
This is just how I'vealways been in my
life and everything.
I'm just like, youJesus, Thank you.
Right.
I'm not, gonnaquestion anything.
It's just really odd.
I could yell as much aspossible, they'll stop
(07:51):
every now and then, butnot like that, right?
But just on a dime, Soshe brings her hands down,
everything looks overand goes, you're welcome,
and just like walks away.
But that's the pureness of,honestly, just believing in
what she has in her hand andwhat it means and everything,
right?
And that's always theinspiration of seeing
and believing in yourfaith through like
the heart of a child.
That you can do somethingin that prayer or
(08:11):
ask something and theprayer will be answered.
It might not be the answeryou want and everything,
but something will occur ifyou believe in it that much.
that was my, one ofmy funniest, but I
mean, truest examplesthat seen recently
and experienced.
Katie (08:25):
Yeah, it's It's incredible the
faith of a child.
Justin (08:27):
I
Katie (08:28):
get to see it a lot and it's a, it's a blessing, but,
Justin (08:32):
I mean, what you're doing and everything
with just the catechism.
And Haley goes to theChristian school around the
corner at LCS and just hersearch and pure understanding
of Jesus God, and then allthe fun questions they ask.
Because they'researching for it.
And just as any child,They ask you question
after question afterquestion, you're kind
of losing your mind.
But it allows you to goon a mission, a search
(08:54):
of your own faith.
And it's like, wow.
I understood that onething, but maybe not
down to this degree.
It's like, well, I wantto provide my child with
an answer, so then youstart looking for answers
Katie (09:03):
It's really a gift to be able to look through
the kids eyes becausethey just see things
from a whole differntperspective.
Even height wise.
they're looking at thingsat a different perspective.
And I'm grateful thatyour wife helps because
Justin (09:15):
Oh yeah.
Katie (09:15):
She's helping teach too, so, I mean,
that's wonderful to see
Justin (09:18):
It's the same thing because like I said, she's
on her own journey as wellbecause she didn't finish her
faithful upbringing as well.
It came to like a certainpoint and she was an
athlete like me andkind of fell into it.
So when we got married atthe exact same time, she had
to go through confirmation.
So we came in, I thinkfather Sean was here at
the time and helped outwith that whole process.
And through then everychance she gets, she's
(09:40):
like, Hey, I kind of thinkI want to maybe help out
with the faith organization,which is absolutely
like my mother did that.
Like she was the one thatdid all of our stuff and
that helped my upbringing.
And it's only goingto help Haley.
And I know you, andit's only going to help.
What you can bring toeverybody So by all means,
if there's a calling,answer the phone.
Katie (09:57):
Well, that's a really great way to say that.
Because I thinkmost people pretend
that it's disconnected
Justin (10:03):
And I've heard beautiful things.
So for the state policenow, like I teach
defensive tactics.
How, we can protect ourselvesand how we can protect others.
And when needed, putpeople under arrest.
But part of all that issearching for like, how does
human behavior come about?
What is decision making like?
And I've gone down likea scientific rabbit hole
as well, but my faithfulunderstanding has always
been in and around there.
(10:24):
And With all that,there's like the little
voice in your head.
And just through all myreading, I firmly believe,
the little voice in myhead is just the Lord
talking to me at all times.
Because what otherpart of you would tell
you when something'slike right or wrong?
you're not going to tellyourself it's wrong.
It's it's the spirit justspeaking through you.
And ever since I'veeither heard that it
made more sense to me andeverything you're, like
(10:45):
you said, your perspectivejust starts changing.
And it's like, well, ifI truly believe with what
that is, it makes, noteverything easier, but
everything's just more simple.
lot of hard things in life,but if I truly believe like
there's a whisper right there.
And if I believe that is theLord, calling and trying to
direct my actions forward.
It's like, that was easy.
Go that way.
The hard part of thatis like choice on that.
Now, do I want to?
(11:06):
So
Katie (11:06):
Actually taking the step, right?
Do you think yourfaith plays an integral
part in your career?
Justin (11:11):
Oh, I mean, absolutely.
being a quote unquote,like good person is a
very difficult thing to do.
different meaning inthat for everybody else.
And so I believe that'swhere the element of
choice comes from.
But if I believe each andevery single one of us is made
in the image and likeness ofChrist, Well, then the person
across from me is Jesus.
And if I go about that, nomatter what the day is, at
least if that's my framingperspective, and I know
(11:33):
if I'm wearing a uniform,no one knows, Justin,
they're just looking atthe officer before them.
It's not a personalrelationship, but I can
at least personalizeit through Jesus.
I've been surrounded orprotected, however you want
to say it and everything.
I've been in some stressfulsituations, but thankfully
there's always been atleast a way through it.
And a lot of the timesis just because of that.
And it's like, okay, thisis the task I have before
(11:55):
me, nothing crazy is goingon where I need to take an
immediate step to do anything.
Let's talk to somebodyor allow this to happen.
As long as it's notinterfering with
the greater public.
That's really what onlywhat a lot of people want.
And I could probably speakfor almost most of the
people in my profession,or at least all of them.
A lot of the times,afterwards, people thank
us for everything you have.
(12:15):
I've had the amount ofgrown men who have cried
in front of me just causeyou'll go to people's
houses cause they're dealingwith, you know, marital
issues, relationship issues,children, and those are the
things that mean the most.
And obviously the behaviorthat driving all that
for the good or the bad,there's a root of that.
And that's a route that I'vedealt with that we've all
(12:35):
dealt with and everything, butlike what we're talking about
here, everyone has a story andthey just want to be heard.
And if I just view it from thelens of, well, I'm speaking
with Jesus and if Jesus wouldtreat me like this, well,
that's my opportunity in thisposition that I'm in now to
relate that to somebody else.
And that's honestly how I'vehad just so much success
in my career at least, orat least been protected.
MVI_4031 (12:57):
I,
Katie (12:57):
I, I have been fortunate to have military
police and a former deputypolice chief for the city
of Adrian in my family.
And I'm always amazed atthe, I don't want to say
the villainization, butthe way that police come
across in certain situationswhen, my uncle said to me,
he's like 95 percent ofthe time, it's so mundane.
It' s nothing.
It's just being a basic human.
(13:19):
Like, please, next time drivesafer or whatever it is.
It' s basic stuff.
But that other five percentthat takes it to the
next level is where all
Justin (13:29):
the,
Katie (13:30):
the discontent comes from for the police.
But it's interesting andI have a lot more respect
for the fact that I'msitting across from you
and you say, you look ateverybody with the image of
Justin (13:38):
Crest.
Katie (13:39):
Because that does change any perspective.
And I think really, anybody,it doesn't matter what
profession you're in orwhat you do, if we just
took that approach, howdifferent would our life be to
each to each other?
Justin (13:53):
And even if you don't have the faith,
like I work for a stateinstitution and everything.
So there's a separationbetween church and state.
But like on our trainingacademy and everything, like
our main three core principlesare do what's right.
Obviously you'reupholding the law.
Treat everyone with respectand treat them the way
you want to be treated.
that, that's the coreof the Catholic faith,
pretty much and Everything.
Right?
That's what Jesus wouldexpect and treat your
(14:15):
brother and sister the same.
So it's all woven together andunderlined however you want
to explain it and understand it.
Katie (14:21):
And they have Police chaplains on the state police
Justin (14:24):
Oh, in, In every faith.
It was when I playedprofessional, but
it was the same.
Like chaplains arethere everywhere, right?
Every, I think everyorganization profession
understands that atsome level, that is a
very important thing.
And they offer thatthere's groups, right?
If you don't believein a faith or you don't
want to be around achaplain, priest rabbi,
your faith leaderis, there's groups of
(14:44):
people because welive in a community.
Katie (14:46):
Yeah.
We go to the Mud Hens and theWalleye and they bring their
chaplain in and they talk, andthe players talk and stuff.
But, I don't know thatthey've ever identified
as Catholic specifically.
So I did wonder about theMass thing, and you were
saying you went to Massesin different places.
So would you play inthe afternoon and then
go to Mass on Sunday or?
Justin (15:07):
yeah.
So it all depends, right?
'cause if you have like aday game and everything,
I'm a morning creature.
My wife's always, youneed to get more sleep.
I just wake up and thenI'm up all day long until
eventually the lights turn out.
But I would go if theygot a 7 a. m. mass,
go to a 7 a. m. Mass.
If we have a double headeror a morning game, a day off.
Or if you miss it, thankfullyeverything's online now,
or go to a night mass.
But, I think the beautiful thingabout the Catholic faith
(15:27):
is for the most part,Cause I've walked in some
pretty crazy parishes.
Like this one's anative American Parish.
Had no idea I was goingto a native and it's like
a bilingual thing, butit's like, I know the
Spanish language a littlebit playing baseball.
I have no idea allthe different, ways of
communicating and they haveall their different types
of cultures, but thankfullythe Mass is the Mass and I
can follow along and everycommunity invites you in and
(15:48):
you're a part of it for thatday and you take a piece
of that away with you andeverything your faith gets
stronger and again the wayyou interact and perceive
with people you grow.
Katie (15:56):
So are there any practices per se, like not
just going to Mass, butlike daily Bible reading or
certain prayers that you havefound to help strengthen your
faith as you've done so, Imean you travel frequently.
So it's not like you havethat home base all the time.
Justin (16:12):
yeah, it's like growing up, right.
You just, watch a lot ofshows or listen to stuff . I
was never a great reader,but I would force myself to.
So over the course of six oreight years, I read the whole
Bible, but just to read it.
You would highlight thingsand, write things in your
own personal book to comeback to every now and then.
But that was a goal, right.
If I truly believe in this,It's God's spoken word.
(16:33):
I should at least understand it.
Now, I mean, you can sign upfor any podcasts, whatever,
and they go into grave detailon everything.
I mean, there's so manygreat speakers out there.
Right now I'm doingthe daily reflections
of Bishop Sheen from the '50s.
Katie (16:46):
Oh, Fulton Sheen.
Justin (16:47):
Yeah, and just outstanding, right?
Cause on YouTube wouldcome across any one of
the lectures that he didand everything black and white.
You're like, holy, thatresonated with me and then I
see like the daily readingsthat are just words of wisdom,
guess better sake that he hadand just one or two lines,
but they're thought provoking.
Katie (17:04):
I think, there's actually a cause to take
up his canonization.
I think they're working on it.
Yeah, but yeah, he did havea lot of really good stuff.
Justin (17:11):
And it's just, it's simple and
it's for the person.
And everything crossesover timelines So you can
hear what he's talkingabout even in the fifties.
And the same battlesare being fought today.
The same personal struggles.
It's all there.
Just figure out atleast what's talking
to you at that time.
Put it upon yourself.
I'm married, so like lookacross from the bed and
everything, like whatdo you think about this?
Like, that's real interesting.
Katie (17:31):
Is there anything particularly from
Fulton Sheen rightnow that you're like, wow, this
is profound.
Justin (17:35):
For me it's the simpler stuff, right?
If you know what's right,just do what's right.
but just taking two words,Putting them together in
a sentence, and they havepolar opposite meanings.
And if you literally justlike switch them around,
You can see where the faithtruly is right here, and you
can see where the strugglesand the tribulations in
your life are going togo if you go this way.
I've noticed in a lotof either, his talkings
online, or at least thewritten word, that's a very
(17:58):
simple thing that he does.
Just take two differentthings, switch them
around, you get twodifferent pathways in life.
Katie (18:04):
So you were saying your brothers
aren't in the faith anymore,
Justin (18:07):
I think everyone at one point or another, goes
through their own things.
They're a little outof it, which is funny.
So here's the bestexample, right?
Or at least an easy one.
Because we're all parentsnow, at least in my family.
Me and Brooke, for a longtime, We're like, so we got
together in college, so yourearly 20s and everything.
got married a fewten years later.
I'm going through mathin my head, it's fun.
(18:28):
Anyways, in the very beginning,Brooke probably wanted
to experience more life,wasn't ready for kids.
Outstanding.
I'm doing a whole bunchof things personally
with my life andwork, and eventually,
we're like, this isthe time, we should
probably look into this.
Cause we're notgetting any younger.
And like probably a lot ofparents that want to have
kids it was this isn'tworking I don't know why
right so is it me is ithow I made is it Brooke,
(18:51):
is it how she's made soyou're like seeking for
answers time years are goingby you're wondering, right?
And you're praying uponit and just like nothing's
working Like I said,we travel around a lot.
So we were in Detroitgrew up in Detroit, but
we were like downtown.
We were there forsomething, but we went to
St. Anne's cathedral, likeOh yeah, by the Canadian
border there, And at the time,I think they've put a lot
(19:14):
more work into it, but at thetime it was a pretty decrepit
cathedral and everything.
We got there like an hour early.
Cause whenever I go to churchthat I haven't been to at
Brooke too, we like walkingaround, looking, seeing if
you can run into anybody.
Right.
And we're like, who's,what's I mean, I know who
Saint Anne is, but what'sshe the patron saint of?
And there's a wholebunch, there's a
list of stuff, right?
But she's the mother ofMary and she was the,
patron saint of mothers,mothers longing for children
(19:36):
I'm like, hmm, maybe weshould start a novena.
That'd be outstanding.
So like walk in there, writedown what we're asking for
a child and everything.
Put it in the bin pray,go to Mass and everything.
Katie (19:45):
Three
Justin (19:46):
later, find out Brooks pregnant.
And it's like, wow, that's, ifit was this easy, if all I, if
all I was like ask, that wouldhave been like a great way.
there's faith and thenthere's action along with it.
And then the child'sbelief and everything,
maybe you're at wit's endor whatever, but like,
I'm going to go for that.
And that's how Haley came intothe world.
And it's just anotherone of the, at least
the examples in my life.
(20:06):
So I go back to mybrothers and, They didn't
go to Catholic school.
Catholic school isvery expensive, right?
I had a talent so, my parentsdidn't have a lot of help
for financial sake, butkudos to them and looking
currently as a parent now,It's like, Christian
school ain't cheap, butwe're going to make sure
Haley's in that as well.
They sacrificed a lot ofcareer and, you know, going
up in their career andeverything, Promotions to
(20:27):
help me and my brothers out.
But because my brotherswent to, and everyone lives
their own life, But thisis like a feeling of mine.
Public school, youdon't have the,
core of the faith.
Even though it's like inthe family, at that age and
everything, I mean, yoursurroundings get a vote.
So I'm not saying that's maybewhy they strayed a little
bit, Because, if as a family,it's like, we're going to
church on Christmas, they'dbe there and everything.
(20:48):
But for like the day to day,it's not like a big thing.
And then questions come in.
you know, people in momentsof emotion, will say things
like, I don't believe.
And it's like, Sothey're, going through
their own struggles Oneof my youngest brother
and his first daughter.
Not long after she was born,Had a severe medical episode
(21:09):
where they found themselvesin the hospital for like
20 days and searching foranswers and everything.
I could only imagine,when you don't have the
core, whatever your core isfor us, obviously it's Jesus
and everything, which makes,again, everything, I think
a little simpler, not easy.
they struggled.
What why is this happening?
And there's, there's, there'sno explanation for it.
And it's, it's the hardpart with like the dynamics
(21:30):
of the family with this,Cause I think everyone
has the struggle of like,I want to be there for you.
I think I have the answers,but you kind of know
how that conversationgoes in heated moments.
You don't want to drivesomeone further away.
And it's just, I'vealways enveloped it again
through my father exampleof like just presence.
Like, you know me, youknow what I'm founded on.
This is how I live my lifeI'm going to be there for you.
(21:52):
We might not talk aboutit, but you know, Jesus
works through me or myactions and hopefully like
That's the pull just over timeLord will wear you down.
I'll be there.
I was there in the beginning.
I've been there throughout.
I'll be there in theend and everything.
They'll send you theinvitations here and
there urge you knock on itI'll give you a longer rope.
(22:13):
I think that's thebeauty of free will.
Because it's funwith Haley, right?
It's like, daddy, does,does everybody go to heaven?
And it's like, well, that'sa It's a pretty tough
question and she's like,if you don't go to heaven,
you know She knows likethe Satan and everything,
like, are you with Satan?
And I wish I had like thedefinitive answer, right?
But for the most part, it'slike, you know, Haley, if
you believe in Jesus and Idon't know when you're going
(22:35):
to believe in Jesus, andI think maybe at the last
day, maybe you didn't knowabout him your whole life and
he'll reveal himself to youand you have an opportunity.
Say yes or say no.
Here's your call.
You, it wasn'tthere at the time.
It's here now.
What are you going to do?
If you look at the evidenceand you're like, no, and
I'm gonna hang up well,there's probably a place
for you because, butI think it's a choice.
Katie (22:55):
It's amazing to me when I've talked to people,
especially those who aren'tCatholic but decide to
make the choice to comeinto the Catholic Church.
They can tell you thatthroughout the history of
their backstory, they haveseen the markings of Jesus
in different places, Andso, that is the beauty of
free will, but also thedownfall of free will.
(23:15):
You can take it or leave it.
Justin (23:16):
That's the same side of the coin.
Katie (23:18):
And I think some of us most probably do this
on a regular basis, justwith our choices every day.
Do my choices showthat I take Jesus or
Justin (23:27):
I leave
Katie (23:27):
I think you're right.
I tend to say it aseveryone has to claim
their faith for themselves.
Like you grow up Catholic,cradle Catholic, but then
there's that point in which,mom and dad don't force you
to go to church anymore.
Do you want to do thisfor yourself or not?
Right.
And I think if youdon't have the wrestle,
I think if you don'thave that struggle, Then,
there will come a time lateron down the road where it
(23:48):
will, and you're going to havea really hard time with that.
Justin (23:51):
Oh, it's not even a even wrestle sometimes a fight,
sometimes it's everything,Cause like the free
will thing, it's, like Iknow the very thing I should
do, but then I'll, at thesame side, I'll continue
to do the very thing I hate.
have that constantstruggle daily.
some of the times in my lifeI've chosen the very thing
I hate for whatever reason.
And I don't know if it'sjust, everyone does it the
same, but like a part of me,you might make that decision.
(24:11):
If you stay on the course,that's a continuation of that
choice, No matter how longit lasts, but at some point.
Hopefully, Everyone has tolike, okay, no, that was
obviously an error in whoI am and you confess for
what you've done for learnfrom what you've done for.
And then as hopefully aseasy or hard as it you
get back on the path.
But it's a wrestle, likeyou said daily, but I'm
(24:33):
looking for anything in mylife to make that battle
a little bit easier.
And it is easier.
I think the more you'reout there and through
my work and everything,you'll see it all the time.
And the simplest ofit answers, right?
If I see someone andBrooke always made
a fun thing, right?
Especially when we wereup North, because up North
there's a bunch of smallercommunities, even though
Adrian's is pretty muchsmaller community, right?
But you would see peopleat Walmart or something.
(24:55):
Cause for Walmart, it's alocal watering hole, right?
Up in like, Sault Ste.
Marie after we've beenthere for long enough,
would just start comingup and talking to me.
And Brooke's like, who is that?
I've never seenthat person before.
Oh, I was like, I,arrested them two
days ago or whatever.
You know what I mean?
She's like, what the heck?
why are they so nice to you?
you like, you took them to jail.
like what for?
I'm like, do you wantto know what for?
if I honestly perceiveeverybody as Jesus that
(25:17):
interaction, good or bad forwhat needs to be done in that
situation, what they takeaway is a sense of Jesus.
So to the point where theysee me in Walmart and they
don't do something crazyor run away they walk up to
you and ask how you're doingas now a person, because
I'm not in a uniform thatspeaks mightily just, about
the perspective of everyonebefore me is Jesus.
what has he givenme without cost?
(25:39):
And then what can I give back?
And that that's been likethe underpinning of how
I've done my career and howI've tried to live my life.
And it pays back.
exponentially.
it's like, why doI deserve that?
I don't deserve any of this.
I have a family, I have ahouse over my head, I have
a little bit of money in thebank and everything, food upon
the table, like that's enough.
Cause when you compare itto like the rest of the
world, and if you lookglobally and like there
(26:01):
is atrocities going on.
you want to be able to helpeverywhere you possibly can,
but unless you've, I don'tjoin the peace corps, like I
can't go over there and solvethat, but what can I do here?
And now pick something you canput it through the perspective
of Jesus and start go.
Katie (26:17):
That's a very Great way to look at it, right?
I mean we can get overwhelmedeasily by the amount of things
happening in this world.
At any given time.
And what's amazing is I'vebeen listening to past stories
of presidents the world hasbeen a dumpster fire all
all along.
Like, you know, Imean, just like they're
talking about warsAll over, all the time.
(26:40):
And, and so I'm like, oh,well we're not the only ones
facing this dumpster fire.
Like this has happenedthroughout the course
of history, andthey're still okay.
Justin (26:48):
Every problem that is a human has been involved
with has been done before.
There's a lesson to learn.
If you like reading,if you like stories and
just talking with someonegreat, if you like watching
video, it's all there.
Just start searching forward.
See what it means to you.
Try implementing it inyour life and everything,
and you'll be amazed.
And obviously like having theconversation here, if you look
(27:09):
at it through the focus of ourfaith, and that's the gift.
I honestly, it's,that's how I felt it.
Without cost, thiswas given to you.
what am I now goingto do with it?
Mm.
Katie (27:19):
I, I'm grateful you've shared a lot of wisdom with
us today, but if you couldgive your younger self
one piece of advice, well,like we could think of it
as like, Haley's going tolisten to this podcast, right?
What, what adviceare you going to give give her?
Justin (27:33):
Right, it'd be like, listen to your father.
father.
try to listen to my father,like listen to your father.
But at the time,you don't want to do that.
I'm sure there's some thingsin life you look back on and
you're like, wow, I wish thatnever happened, or, I would've
done something differently.
But I think the part of lifeis the lessons you've learned
you're are fortunate enoughto make it through some
lessons and everything.
So there's a grain ofsalt that comes along
(27:54):
with that, but I wouldn'tchange anything about it.
I truly believe I don'tknow, call it intuition,
call it your consciousness,call it whatever it is.
If that is Jesus talkingto you, accept it for that
and don't think twice aboutit because the human side
of it is to just like, Hmm.
Right.
Cause I have freewill right here.
I can go that direction.
(28:15):
And there were multiple timesin my life, probably like
everybody else where he spoke.
And I didn't answer orI hung up or I hit delay
or silent or whatever.
And thankfully throughthe grace of God,
Katie (28:27):
I survived
Justin (28:27):
because there were plenty of times like call
it sheltered or whatever,or I was on a mission to get
somewhere in my athletics.
Like I didn't drink atall or party at all.
And then you get aroundfriends and there was one time
and you can't do anything inAmerica, so you go to Canada,
and I'm underage, I don'tknow what any of this is,
and you find yourself in anarea, and you're like, wow,
this is bad, I hope I survive,and by the grace of God you
(28:48):
do, and you've learned whatthat feeling feels like, and
Katie (28:51):
Do you try to not get there again.
Justin (28:52):
Right, exactly! exactly! Jesus speaks to all of
us in our own way, we'reall individuals, For me,
obviously, it's the silentbut steady voice within me and
I 100 percent believe that'sHim, the Holy Spirit, God
the Father, Jesus, answer.
Go.
He'll be there withyou and everything.
Open all the doors before you.
(29:12):
And then it's your life.
Make it what you want.
And for Haley, it'strying to open all the doors.
And that's the funthing about kids.
It's like, I wishI could give them knowledge,
at that level, knowledgeisn't a thing it's
activities and fun.
So for Haley, at least it'sjust playing games or doing
things where for me, I knowthe answer or the thing to
be chosen is more the Godlyway, as opposed to the, so
(29:32):
they're learning throughactivities.
So the fun part about beinga parent and everything
is setting that up.
And at the same time,the whole presence thing,
because, Brooke is asaint for what I do and
everything and she runs thehousehold.
And then when I come home andI might not be off work.
She gives me likea longer leash.
She'll me when I need tobe checked and very sternly,
(29:53):
but like rightfully so,because I'm very task
oriented, And she knowsI love her, love Haley
and everything, but I geton the path sometimes.
she'll just stop me andbe like, you're here now.
That's not my innerpresence, but if I believe
we are one under God andeverything, that's now
the pathway, the voicethat's speaking to me now.
Alright I'm here now.
(30:14):
I'm throwing her inthe air until I pass out.
Right?
Because in this moment, She'sgoing to learn Jesus through
her father for whatever itis, and I tried to do that,
Same thing with Brooke.
Same thing with anybodyin the family or anyone
you come across in life.
I can't tell you howmany times and Brooke
doesn't understand.
I don't understand it.
I'll just be at the gasstation at the shopping
mall or whatever.
And people just comeup to me and talk to me.
Brooke's like, whydo people do that?
(30:35):
I'm like, I don't know.
Because I think I walk aroundlike a stern face, but they
just walk up to you and it's,Jesus is the light of the world.
And if you inspirethat or bring that
about you, maybe you shine.
And when people walk up to youand everything, just again,
treat them like you wantto be treated like Jesus would,
because you might be theonly one that day who gives
them that look, that voice,and you don't know what
(30:57):
ripple effect that will have.
And I can tell you from theprofession that I've been
in and the change I've seenin people in their lowest
moments, that's all it takes.
It's not, it's difficult,but it's simple.
Just be there, reflect Jesus,and He will, He will come
out in whatever activity.
the more you practice it,I mean, truly believe it
(31:19):
in everything, like I said,random people just over and
over and over either walk upto you, come out to you, ask
for your help and everything.
It's like, that's not mebecause when I'm working,
I'm, I'm, I'm, I look atit as like a split thing.
Cause when I'm at home,I'm a very personal person.
Obviously we live on property,even though I grew up like
in the city and everything.
Once I was like, Oh mygosh, I don't have to have
people around, Likethis beautiful right
(31:39):
is How can we getcan we get more land?
When, when you go outshopping or we go to the
Toledo zoo during the summerall the time, there's people
everywhere.
people look around, theynotice others and everything.
And if you have all thesepeople just continually
coming up to you, talkingabout you again, there's
something else at work righthere.
And I just acceptedthat for what it is.
I truly believe it isJesus and everything.
(32:00):
All right.
What do you want to do today?
And I ask that all the time.
I don't go to confessionall the time, but it's like,
all right, it's Sunday.
I'm here at church.
We're about to goreceive the body and
blood of Christ Jesus, whatwipe away all my sins.
Make me as, white as cloth onthe day I was born come into
my life and work through me.
I'm the ship steer mewherever you want to go.
I'll bring a board,whoever needs to be brought
(32:20):
aboard and take themwherever they need to go.
And I just kept some typeof, Premise or core to
that with whatever I do andfor whatever reason my
life has been quote unquotegood I don't want to figure
it out this is how simpleof a creature I am it drives
Brooke wild and everythingbecause she is very future
oriented, thinks about a wholelot of stuff and everything
as she has to, becauselike, I live in the moment but
(32:45):
I truly believeit's just because
the Bible's forhowever it's written.
It's like, tomorrow'salready been won.
It's been overcome.
Let me have it.
If you have a care ofconcern, throw it upon me
in the moment.
Stay calm.
in Christ and thendo the very next
best thing you can.
Life isn't linear like thatbut that's how I control the
chaos around me
Katie (33:04):
And you could have a lot of chaos, I mean you got
Hayley you got Brooke you got
Justin (33:08):
That's my chaos though because you look at everybody
else and there's chaosall around and everything
Katie (33:12):
That's what I mean and you live in the world
of utter chaos, right?
I mean for like 21 hours a day.
That's tough
Justin (33:19):
That's my that's my creation
though, even the peopleI work with they're like
you are Something likewhy it's not worth it
but it's like I ifI truly believe Jesus put
me into my life for thistime, And I'm only gonna be
alive for who knows becauseall I have is the present
moment and what I was givenand what I choose to do with it.
(33:39):
So many hours in the day,I'm just going to throw
myself 100 percent into it.
And if I have a mission,obviously I teach, defensive
tactics, subject controlfor the state police.
There's means and methods,but the reason behind
why and the meaning.
Is going to answer alot of those questions.
it's going to be theexperience where you have
to learn that for yourself.
(34:01):
I have to create a learningenvironment where if it's
surrounded by Jesus peoplehave to learn the lessons
that thankfully I've beengiven over the course of
my life, what it meansfor them, and now all of
them can go all around thestate and everything and
spread Jesus far and wide.
And that's just, thankfully,the boat or vessel
that I currently haveSo it's like, well, you
know, yeah, I'll probablyhave dementia or Alzheimer's
pretty quickly becauseI don't sleep at all or
(34:22):
anything, And probablydon't have the greatest
of healthiest habits, butthis is how I view my days.
There'sa human element into that,
but I try to center everythingaround Jesus and just go.
Katie (34:34):
Well, I can't thank you enough for what you've
shared with us today.
We appreciate you beinghere and sharing your story
and it's an amazing story,but also to remind us that
everyone we encounter isJesus and to see him in them.
thank you so much, Justin,for joining us today.
Justin (34:50):
I never thought I'd do this.
it's funny, right?
I've been in a lot of likestressful situations and
You sent me a text messageyesterday and all of a
sudden, that was the moststress I've ever been under.
I was like, Oh no, what amI going to talk about then?
I'm like, Brooke,what, what do I do?
Right.
And she's like, just do whatyou do.
I don't know.
Like it's your story.
Katie (35:07):
And your story has a lot of different facets.
And so I'm grateful that youshared all of them with us.
Justin (35:12):
There's a lot, but hopefully, hopefully
there's something to take away.
If not, like I said,come up, come up to me.
We're trying to be achurch as much as we
Katie (35:19):
Well, thanks again for joining us
Justin (35:21):
Appreciate it.
Katie (35:21):
Once again, we thank you for joining us today.
We hope that wherever youfind an open seat in your
life, you will invitesomeone to join you.
I've had some of the greatest stories of all time
(00:02):
but unfortunately part of myjob is some of the darkest
stories of people's days.
But through all that, you canreally see how Jesus is in
and around all of it, whichis really what's pretty much
held me together becauseyou hear of tragic suicidal
stories from police officersbut for whatever reason,
it sure feels like there'salways a presence with you.
Katie (00:20):
Welcome to Open Seat, the podcast where we
create a space for authenticconversations about faith,
unfiltered and unapologetic.
Here, we believe thatevery story matters.
Whether you're questioning,seeking, or steadfast in
your beliefs, you'll findsomething relatable in
these heartfelt discussions.
(00:41):
So grab your seat, getcomfortable, and let's
dive into today's storyhere at Open Seat.
Today on the podcastwe have Justin Mazur.
Why don't you just
Justin (00:55):
tell us a little bit
Katie (00:56):
who you
Justin (00:56):
you are?
well, it's apleasure to be here.
I didn't think I'd ever behere, but, like you said,
my name's Justin Mazur.
I'm not from the Adrian area.
My wife's name's, well,Brooke Mazur, now before
Brooke Kirkendall.
She comes from partof the Marvin family.
So, really ingrainedinto like, the area.
I grew up in themetro Detroit area.
Mother, father, two brothers.
38 years old.
I Worked for the state police.
(01:17):
I'm with state trooper,live around the area now.
well that's a
Katie (01:20):
difference, right?
From Detroit to thebooming metropolis of
Justin (01:23):
Adrian.
Yeah.
That, that, it'sa story in itself.
Right?
I met my wife at WayneState University.
We were both athletesand everything.
So we developed ourrelationship there.
Afterwards, playedprofessional baseball
for a few years.
Never made it to likethe major leagues.
Just had a cup of coffeein the minor leagues.
But then, at the age oflike 25, Brooke was like,
we're probably gonna haveto make a run of this.
You're gonna need insuranceand a good stable job.
(01:44):
Figure something else out.
Well, gotta have somekind of guiding force.
The Lord only speaks toyou when he needs to.
So.
after that, my dad waslike, hey, the state
police are hiring.
Sounds like a goodthing you'd be into.
Easy enough, sign up for that.
And, out of recruit school,you have an opportunity to
select where you want to go.
And I know the Detroitarea and Brooke was like,
we're not doing that.
She was like, well, we usedto vacation up in the U.P.
(02:06):
I'm like, well, I'vebeen pretty much all
over the United Statesplaying baseball.
I've never been tothe U. P. you know,
let's, let's do that.
So in 2013, we movedup to Sault Sainte.
Marie.
And if you recall around thattime, it was probably one of
the worst winters we've had.
And for like the fivegreat lakes froze.
And I forget what theweather was like down here.
We had over 300 inchesof snow and Brooke
learned really quickly.
Like this was not the bestidea, as everything goes,
(02:29):
the summers are great,but eventually family
circumstances draw you backdown and that's kind of how
we came back around hereand ever since then it's
been, you know, we got toexperience the last a few
years of her grandfather'slife down here moved in right
next to them and everythingand I never really Had a
special relationship withany of my grandparents to
that degree Coming home andyou know seeing Jack Marvin
(02:52):
out in the farm every singleday You learn a lot about
life about life They broughtBrooke more into the faith.
She grew up Catholic justlike me, but kind of like,
wandered away a littlebit, in the middle of life.
But, when we got together,I've pretty much had a stable
relationship with the Lord.
Her grandparents went tochurch every morning at like
7 (03:07):
30 I think at the time.
We'd get breakfast beforeor after and we'd be here.
So it's like, if youwant to hang out with
me more, I'm going to bewith your grandparents.
So she gets pulled backinto the church and it's
kind of been the ride.
Katie (03:17):
So you have had a strong relationship
with the Lord, what doyou think sustained that?
Justin (03:22):
Well, my mother, that's been my moral
compass from day one.
And it's not the same fortwo of my other brothers.
So I was the first born.
There's a four yearseparation between me
and my second brother.
And they're likethe Irish Twins.
Pretty darn close in time.
They got me in, I was intoMontessori for a while,
then went to public schoolfor a minute, and even
that difference was a lotat that time, when you're
(03:44):
still trying to learnyourself and your faith.
But then thankfully,she put me into Catholic
school for high school.
And that really rooted me.
Because it was an all boysCatholic school, and at the
time, right, it's like, thisis such a terrible decision.
Why are you doing this?
I'm missing out on this,that, and the other thing.
But looking back as aparent now, you're like,
that's the greatest giftyou've ever given me.
But the whole time, It was,unless you're dead, you're
going to church or you'regoing to school was the thing.
(04:06):
My father grew up in aCatholic faith, but it was
never like, at least forhim, the number one thing.
So he would be like, probablylike most fathers of the
generation were at church.
He's just, kind of noddingand everything, right?
But he's there.
It's presence.
You learn that from your father.
It doesn't matter whatneeds to be done right now.
You do it, right?
So my mother and myfather establishing that
(04:27):
allowed me the plentyof time and opportunity
to grow in my own faith.
And then, through baseball,traveling the country,
just talking to peopleand just seeing how the
Lord works through others,having the unbelievable
opportunity of most gamesare in the afternoon.
I got to see, hundreds ofdifferent parishes across
the U. S. and just how everydifferent priest does it.
(04:47):
How every different communitycomes together and that
just kind of works intowhat I do now for a living.
And, everyone does my job alittle bit differently and,
I don't know, I've had, beendoing it now for 12 years.
I've had some of the greateststories of all time and,
but unfortunately part of myjob is some of the darkest
stories of people's days.
But through all that, you canreally see how Jesus is in
(05:08):
and around all of it, whichis really what's pretty much
held me together becauseyou hear of tragic suicidal
stories from police officersor people in the military,
but for whatever reason,I don't want to say I'm
protected by any means, butit sure feels like there's
always a presence with you.
Katie (05:21):
It's good to know that when we pray those, those
Justin (05:24):
prayers, right, the,
Katie (05:25):
blue mass or, we honor the, police officers.
We do the police officerluncheon here at the parish.
So it's good to know thatour prayers are protecting
people and especially our
Justin (05:36):
own.
Oh yeah.
Katie (05:37):
Like people we see every Sunday, because
it's so nice to see youand your wife and, and
Haley out there on Sunday
Justin (05:44):
It is really fun cause when you first come and
bringing Brooke back into it.
And we, you know, hergrandparents like to sit a
little further back, but it'sso funny Catholics, right?
It's like, we sit here andwe've always sat here and
then like COVID happensand, Haley comes around
and she wants to sit upfront and it's like, well,
that's, you know, people situp front, she's, she
wants to be in part of thefaith or let's get her up there.
Right.
Right And she becomes likea namestay and everyone's
(06:07):
like, Oh my God, it's so goodto see her when she's there.
And she's so such agood kid and everything.
And you're just.
As a parent, right?
Just battling with her everysingle Mass, just like,
don't make a scene, but,but play and be a child that
appreciate for what it is.
She's inquisitive and,and now it's, finding
the faith through herand those experiences.
a funny story a little whileback, I forget what they are.
(06:28):
They're like thetraveling, playing.
they bring all thedifferent wooden
sculptures and everythingto the church and
you can buy them.
Yeah, And I first cameacross them in Arizona and
bought a whole, spent way toomuch money, bought a whole
bunch of really nice stuff.
And then it was yearsand they came right back
here and I was like, ohmy God, this is great.
Didn't have the fundsthat I did at the time.
Right?
We just got asmall little cross.
So Haley was like,can we get it blessed?
(06:49):
Absolutely.
So Father Mike'sthere, blesses it for
us and everything.
And again, finding thefaith through your kids,
we're outside, we live ona few acres, let the dogs
run all around, we're justright outside of Adrian,
but we have family like alittle ways down the hill,
and didn't know they wereoutside Brooke's cousins were
outside, and their nephewswere outside Did not know they
were just petrified of dogs.
(07:09):
So dogs are runningall around, big dogs.
Right?
A Newfoundland and everything,a German Shepherd, and
they're just having a blast.
And I'm outside burningstuff, not paying any
attention to anything.
And then all of a suddenthe dogs lock onto them
and start running at them.
And in the moment I'mlike, this is not good.
Because I could hearBrooke's cousin yelling
like, Stop your dogs!they're heat seeking missiles.
So in the the chaos thatthat is Hailey and just
(07:31):
the infinite wisdom ofthe Lord, like just goes,
dad, I got this right.
And she has her cross in herhands and like she just raises
her hands up like this, andthe dogs just come to a halt.
Oh.
And I'm like, you know,in the moment, right?
This is just how I'vealways been in my
life and everything.
I'm just like, youJesus, Thank you.
Right.
I'm not, gonnaquestion anything.
It's just really odd.
I could yell as much aspossible, they'll stop
(07:51):
every now and then, butnot like that, right?
But just on a dime, Soshe brings her hands down,
everything looks overand goes, you're welcome,
and just like walks away.
But that's the pureness of,honestly, just believing in
what she has in her hand andwhat it means and everything,
right?
And that's always theinspiration of seeing
and believing in yourfaith through like
the heart of a child.
That you can do somethingin that prayer or
(08:11):
ask something and theprayer will be answered.
It might not be the answeryou want and everything,
but something will occur ifyou believe in it that much.
that was my, one ofmy funniest, but I
mean, truest examplesthat seen recently
and experienced.
Katie (08:25):
Yeah, it's It's incredible the
faith of a child.
Justin (08:27):
I
Katie (08:28):
get to see it a lot and it's a, it's a blessing, but,
Justin (08:32):
I mean, what you're doing and everything
with just the catechism.
And Haley goes to theChristian school around the
corner at LCS and just hersearch and pure understanding
of Jesus God, and then allthe fun questions they ask.
Because they'researching for it.
And just as any child,They ask you question
after question afterquestion, you're kind
of losing your mind.
But it allows you to goon a mission, a search
(08:54):
of your own faith.
And it's like, wow.
I understood that onething, but maybe not
down to this degree.
It's like, well, I wantto provide my child with
an answer, so then youstart looking for answers
Katie (09:03):
It's really a gift to be able to look through
the kids eyes becausethey just see things
from a whole differntperspective.
Even height wise.
they're looking at thingsat a different perspective.
And I'm grateful thatyour wife helps because
Justin (09:15):
Oh yeah.
Katie (09:15):
She's helping teach too, so, I mean,
that's wonderful to see
Justin (09:18):
It's the same thing because like I said, she's
on her own journey as wellbecause she didn't finish her
faithful upbringing as well.
It came to like a certainpoint and she was an
athlete like me andkind of fell into it.
So when we got married atthe exact same time, she had
to go through confirmation.
So we came in, I thinkfather Sean was here at
the time and helped outwith that whole process.
And through then everychance she gets, she's
(09:40):
like, Hey, I kind of thinkI want to maybe help out
with the faith organization,which is absolutely
like my mother did that.
Like she was the one thatdid all of our stuff and
that helped my upbringing.
And it's only goingto help Haley.
And I know you, andit's only going to help.
What you can bring toeverybody So by all means,
if there's a calling,answer the phone.
Katie (09:57):
Well, that's a really great way to say that.
Because I thinkmost people pretend
that it's disconnected
Justin (10:03):
And I've heard beautiful things.
So for the state policenow, like I teach
defensive tactics.
How, we can protect ourselvesand how we can protect others.
And when needed, putpeople under arrest.
But part of all that issearching for like, how does
human behavior come about?
What is decision making like?
And I've gone down likea scientific rabbit hole
as well, but my faithfulunderstanding has always
been in and around there.
(10:24):
And With all that,there's like the little
voice in your head.
And just through all myreading, I firmly believe,
the little voice in myhead is just the Lord
talking to me at all times.
Because what otherpart of you would tell
you when something'slike right or wrong?
you're not going to tellyourself it's wrong.
It's it's the spirit justspeaking through you.
And ever since I'veeither heard that it
made more sense to me andeverything you're, like
(10:45):
you said, your perspectivejust starts changing.
And it's like, well, ifI truly believe with what
that is, it makes, noteverything easier, but
everything's just more simple.
lot of hard things in life,but if I truly believe like
there's a whisper right there.
And if I believe that is theLord, calling and trying to
direct my actions forward.
It's like, that was easy.
Go that way.
The hard part of thatis like choice on that.
Now, do I want to?
(11:06):
So
Katie (11:06):
Actually taking the step, right?
Do you think yourfaith plays an integral
part in your career?
Justin (11:11):
Oh, I mean, absolutely.
being a quote unquote,like good person is a
very difficult thing to do.
different meaning inthat for everybody else.
And so I believe that'swhere the element of
choice comes from.
But if I believe each andevery single one of us is made
in the image and likeness ofChrist, Well, then the person
across from me is Jesus.
And if I go about that, nomatter what the day is, at
least if that's my framingperspective, and I know
(11:33):
if I'm wearing a uniform,no one knows, Justin,
they're just looking atthe officer before them.
It's not a personalrelationship, but I can
at least personalizeit through Jesus.
I've been surrounded orprotected, however you want
to say it and everything.
I've been in some stressfulsituations, but thankfully
there's always been atleast a way through it.
And a lot of the timesis just because of that.
And it's like, okay, thisis the task I have before
(11:55):
me, nothing crazy is goingon where I need to take an
immediate step to do anything.
Let's talk to somebodyor allow this to happen.
As long as it's notinterfering with
the greater public.
That's really what onlywhat a lot of people want.
And I could probably speakfor almost most of the
people in my profession,or at least all of them.
A lot of the times,afterwards, people thank
us for everything you have.
(12:15):
I've had the amount ofgrown men who have cried
in front of me just causeyou'll go to people's
houses cause they're dealingwith, you know, marital
issues, relationship issues,children, and those are the
things that mean the most.
And obviously the behaviorthat driving all that
for the good or the bad,there's a root of that.
And that's a route that I'vedealt with that we've all
(12:35):
dealt with and everything, butlike what we're talking about
here, everyone has a story andthey just want to be heard.
And if I just view it from thelens of, well, I'm speaking
with Jesus and if Jesus wouldtreat me like this, well,
that's my opportunity in thisposition that I'm in now to
relate that to somebody else.
And that's honestly how I'vehad just so much success
in my career at least, orat least been protected.
MVI_4031 (12:57):
I,
Katie (12:57):
I, I have been fortunate to have military
police and a former deputypolice chief for the city
of Adrian in my family.
And I'm always amazed atthe, I don't want to say
the villainization, butthe way that police come
across in certain situationswhen, my uncle said to me,
he's like 95 percent ofthe time, it's so mundane.
It' s nothing.
It's just being a basic human.
(13:19):
Like, please, next time drivesafer or whatever it is.
It' s basic stuff.
But that other five percentthat takes it to the
next level is where all
Justin (13:29):
the,
Katie (13:30):
the discontent comes from for the police.
But it's interesting andI have a lot more respect
for the fact that I'msitting across from you
and you say, you look ateverybody with the image of
Justin (13:38):
Crest.
Katie (13:39):
Because that does change any perspective.
And I think really, anybody,it doesn't matter what
profession you're in orwhat you do, if we just
took that approach, howdifferent would our life be to
each to each other?
Justin (13:53):
And even if you don't have the faith,
like I work for a stateinstitution and everything.
So there's a separationbetween church and state.
But like on our trainingacademy and everything, like
our main three core principlesare do what's right.
Obviously you'reupholding the law.
Treat everyone with respectand treat them the way
you want to be treated.
that, that's the coreof the Catholic faith,
pretty much and Everything.
Right?
That's what Jesus wouldexpect and treat your
(14:15):
brother and sister the same.
So it's all woven together andunderlined however you want
to explain it and understand it.
Katie (14:21):
And they have Police chaplains on the state police
Justin (14:24):
Oh, in, In every faith.
It was when I playedprofessional, but
it was the same.
Like chaplains arethere everywhere, right?
Every, I think everyorganization profession
understands that atsome level, that is a
very important thing.
And they offer thatthere's groups, right?
If you don't believein a faith or you don't
want to be around achaplain, priest rabbi,
your faith leaderis, there's groups of
(14:44):
people because welive in a community.
Katie (14:46):
Yeah.
We go to the Mud Hens and theWalleye and they bring their
chaplain in and they talk, andthe players talk and stuff.
But, I don't know thatthey've ever identified
as Catholic specifically.
So I did wonder about theMass thing, and you were
saying you went to Massesin different places.
So would you play inthe afternoon and then
go to Mass on Sunday or?
Justin (15:07):
yeah.
So it all depends, right?
'cause if you have like aday game and everything,
I'm a morning creature.
My wife's always, youneed to get more sleep.
I just wake up and thenI'm up all day long until
eventually the lights turn out.
But I would go if theygot a 7 a. m. mass,
go to a 7 a. m. Mass.
If we have a double headeror a morning game, a day off.
Or if you miss it, thankfullyeverything's online now,
or go to a night mass.
But, I think the beautiful thingabout the Catholic faith
(15:27):
is for the most part,Cause I've walked in some
pretty crazy parishes.
Like this one's anative American Parish.
Had no idea I was goingto a native and it's like
a bilingual thing, butit's like, I know the
Spanish language a littlebit playing baseball.
I have no idea allthe different, ways of
communicating and they haveall their different types
of cultures, but thankfullythe Mass is the Mass and I
can follow along and everycommunity invites you in and
(15:48):
you're a part of it for thatday and you take a piece
of that away with you andeverything your faith gets
stronger and again the wayyou interact and perceive
with people you grow.
Katie (15:56):
So are there any practices per se, like not
just going to Mass, butlike daily Bible reading or
certain prayers that you havefound to help strengthen your
faith as you've done so, Imean you travel frequently.
So it's not like you havethat home base all the time.
Justin (16:12):
yeah, it's like growing up, right.
You just, watch a lot ofshows or listen to stuff . I
was never a great reader,but I would force myself to.
So over the course of six oreight years, I read the whole
Bible, but just to read it.
You would highlight thingsand, write things in your
own personal book to comeback to every now and then.
But that was a goal, right.
If I truly believe in this,It's God's spoken word.
(16:33):
I should at least understand it.
Now, I mean, you can sign upfor any podcasts, whatever,
and they go into grave detailon everything.
I mean, there's so manygreat speakers out there.
Right now I'm doingthe daily reflections
of Bishop Sheen from the '50s.
Katie (16:46):
Oh, Fulton Sheen.
Justin (16:47):
Yeah, and just outstanding, right?
Cause on YouTube wouldcome across any one of
the lectures that he didand everything black and white.
You're like, holy, thatresonated with me and then I
see like the daily readingsthat are just words of wisdom,
guess better sake that he hadand just one or two lines,
but they're thought provoking.
Katie (17:04):
I think, there's actually a cause to take
up his canonization.
I think they're working on it.
Yeah, but yeah, he did havea lot of really good stuff.
Justin (17:11):
And it's just, it's simple and
it's for the person.
And everything crossesover timelines So you can
hear what he's talkingabout even in the fifties.
And the same battlesare being fought today.
The same personal struggles.
It's all there.
Just figure out atleast what's talking
to you at that time.
Put it upon yourself.
I'm married, so like lookacross from the bed and
everything, like whatdo you think about this?
Like, that's real interesting.
Katie (17:31):
Is there anything particularly from
Fulton Sheen rightnow that you're like, wow, this
is profound.
Justin (17:35):
For me it's the simpler stuff, right?
If you know what's right,just do what's right.
but just taking two words,Putting them together in
a sentence, and they havepolar opposite meanings.
And if you literally justlike switch them around,
You can see where the faithtruly is right here, and you
can see where the strugglesand the tribulations in
your life are going togo if you go this way.
I've noticed in a lotof either, his talkings
online, or at least thewritten word, that's a very
(17:58):
simple thing that he does.
Just take two differentthings, switch them
around, you get twodifferent pathways in life.
Katie (18:04):
So you were saying your brothers
aren't in the faith anymore,
Justin (18:07):
I think everyone at one point or another, goes
through their own things.
They're a little outof it, which is funny.
So here's the bestexample, right?
Or at least an easy one.
Because we're all parentsnow, at least in my family.
Me and Brooke, for a longtime, We're like, so we got
together in college, so yourearly 20s and everything.
got married a fewten years later.
I'm going through mathin my head, it's fun.
(18:28):
Anyways, in the very beginning,Brooke probably wanted
to experience more life,wasn't ready for kids.
Outstanding.
I'm doing a whole bunchof things personally
with my life andwork, and eventually,
we're like, this isthe time, we should
probably look into this.
Cause we're notgetting any younger.
And like probably a lot ofparents that want to have
kids it was this isn'tworking I don't know why
right so is it me is ithow I made is it Brooke,
(18:51):
is it how she's made soyou're like seeking for
answers time years are goingby you're wondering, right?
And you're praying uponit and just like nothing's
working Like I said,we travel around a lot.
So we were in Detroitgrew up in Detroit, but
we were like downtown.
We were there forsomething, but we went to
St. Anne's cathedral, likeOh yeah, by the Canadian
border there, And at the time,I think they've put a lot
(19:14):
more work into it, but at thetime it was a pretty decrepit
cathedral and everything.
We got there like an hour early.
Cause whenever I go to churchthat I haven't been to at
Brooke too, we like walkingaround, looking, seeing if
you can run into anybody.
Right.
And we're like, who's,what's I mean, I know who
Saint Anne is, but what'sshe the patron saint of?
And there's a wholebunch, there's a
list of stuff, right?
But she's the mother ofMary and she was the,
patron saint of mothers,mothers longing for children
(19:36):
I'm like, hmm, maybe weshould start a novena.
That'd be outstanding.
So like walk in there, writedown what we're asking for
a child and everything.
Put it in the bin pray,go to Mass and everything.
Katie (19:45):
Three
Justin (19:46):
later, find out Brooks pregnant.
And it's like, wow, that's, ifit was this easy, if all I, if
all I was like ask, that wouldhave been like a great way.
there's faith and thenthere's action along with it.
And then the child'sbelief and everything,
maybe you're at wit's endor whatever, but like,
I'm going to go for that.
And that's how Haley came intothe world.
And it's just anotherone of the, at least
the examples in my life.
(20:06):
So I go back to mybrothers and, They didn't
go to Catholic school.
Catholic school isvery expensive, right?
I had a talent so, my parentsdidn't have a lot of help
for financial sake, butkudos to them and looking
currently as a parent now,It's like, Christian
school ain't cheap, butwe're going to make sure
Haley's in that as well.
They sacrificed a lot ofcareer and, you know, going
up in their career andeverything, Promotions to
(20:27):
help me and my brothers out.
But because my brotherswent to, and everyone lives
their own life, But thisis like a feeling of mine.
Public school, youdon't have the,
core of the faith.
Even though it's like inthe family, at that age and
everything, I mean, yoursurroundings get a vote.
So I'm not saying that's maybewhy they strayed a little
bit, Because, if as a family,it's like, we're going to
church on Christmas, they'dbe there and everything.
(20:48):
But for like the day to day,it's not like a big thing.
And then questions come in.
you know, people in momentsof emotion, will say things
like, I don't believe.
And it's like, Sothey're, going through
their own struggles Oneof my youngest brother
and his first daughter.
Not long after she was born,Had a severe medical episode
(21:09):
where they found themselvesin the hospital for like
20 days and searching foranswers and everything.
I could only imagine,when you don't have the
core, whatever your core isfor us, obviously it's Jesus
and everything, which makes,again, everything, I think
a little simpler, not easy.
they struggled.
What why is this happening?
And there's, there's, there'sno explanation for it.
And it's, it's the hardpart with like the dynamics
(21:30):
of the family with this,Cause I think everyone
has the struggle of like,I want to be there for you.
I think I have the answers,but you kind of know
how that conversationgoes in heated moments.
You don't want to drivesomeone further away.
And it's just, I'vealways enveloped it again
through my father exampleof like just presence.
Like, you know me, youknow what I'm founded on.
This is how I live my lifeI'm going to be there for you.
(21:52):
We might not talk aboutit, but you know, Jesus
works through me or myactions and hopefully like
That's the pull just over timeLord will wear you down.
I'll be there.
I was there in the beginning.
I've been there throughout.
I'll be there in theend and everything.
They'll send you theinvitations here and
there urge you knock on itI'll give you a longer rope.
(22:13):
I think that's thebeauty of free will.
Because it's funwith Haley, right?
It's like, daddy, does,does everybody go to heaven?
And it's like, well, that'sa It's a pretty tough
question and she's like,if you don't go to heaven,
you know She knows likethe Satan and everything,
like, are you with Satan?
And I wish I had like thedefinitive answer, right?
But for the most part, it'slike, you know, Haley, if
you believe in Jesus and Idon't know when you're going
(22:35):
to believe in Jesus, andI think maybe at the last
day, maybe you didn't knowabout him your whole life and
he'll reveal himself to youand you have an opportunity.
Say yes or say no.
Here's your call.
You, it wasn'tthere at the time.
It's here now.
What are you going to do?
If you look at the evidenceand you're like, no, and
I'm gonna hang up well,there's probably a place
for you because, butI think it's a choice.
Katie (22:55):
It's amazing to me when I've talked to people,
especially those who aren'tCatholic but decide to
make the choice to comeinto the Catholic Church.
They can tell you thatthroughout the history of
their backstory, they haveseen the markings of Jesus
in different places, Andso, that is the beauty of
free will, but also thedownfall of free will.
(23:15):
You can take it or leave it.
Justin (23:16):
That's the same side of the coin.
Katie (23:18):
And I think some of us most probably do this
on a regular basis, justwith our choices every day.
Do my choices showthat I take Jesus or
Justin (23:27):
I leave
Katie (23:27):
I think you're right.
I tend to say it aseveryone has to claim
their faith for themselves.
Like you grow up Catholic,cradle Catholic, but then
there's that point in which,mom and dad don't force you
to go to church anymore.
Do you want to do thisfor yourself or not?
Right.
And I think if youdon't have the wrestle,
I think if you don'thave that struggle, Then,
there will come a time lateron down the road where it
(23:48):
will, and you're going to havea really hard time with that.
Justin (23:51):
Oh, it's not even a even wrestle sometimes a fight,
sometimes it's everything,Cause like the free
will thing, it's, like Iknow the very thing I should
do, but then I'll, at thesame side, I'll continue
to do the very thing I hate.
have that constantstruggle daily.
some of the times in my lifeI've chosen the very thing
I hate for whatever reason.
And I don't know if it'sjust, everyone does it the
same, but like a part of me,you might make that decision.
(24:11):
If you stay on the course,that's a continuation of that
choice, No matter how longit lasts, but at some point.
Hopefully, Everyone has tolike, okay, no, that was
obviously an error in whoI am and you confess for
what you've done for learnfrom what you've done for.
And then as hopefully aseasy or hard as it you
get back on the path.
But it's a wrestle, likeyou said daily, but I'm
(24:33):
looking for anything in mylife to make that battle
a little bit easier.
And it is easier.
I think the more you'reout there and through
my work and everything,you'll see it all the time.
And the simplest ofit answers, right?
If I see someone andBrooke always made
a fun thing, right?
Especially when we wereup North, because up North
there's a bunch of smallercommunities, even though
Adrian's is pretty muchsmaller community, right?
But you would see peopleat Walmart or something.
(24:55):
Cause for Walmart, it's alocal watering hole, right?
Up in like, Sault Ste.
Marie after we've beenthere for long enough,
would just start comingup and talking to me.
And Brooke's like, who is that?
I've never seenthat person before.
Oh, I was like, I,arrested them two
days ago or whatever.
You know what I mean?
She's like, what the heck?
why are they so nice to you?
you like, you took them to jail.
like what for?
I'm like, do you wantto know what for?
if I honestly perceiveeverybody as Jesus that
(25:17):
interaction, good or bad forwhat needs to be done in that
situation, what they takeaway is a sense of Jesus.
So to the point where theysee me in Walmart and they
don't do something crazyor run away they walk up to
you and ask how you're doingas now a person, because
I'm not in a uniform thatspeaks mightily just, about
the perspective of everyonebefore me is Jesus.
what has he givenme without cost?
(25:39):
And then what can I give back?
And that that's been likethe underpinning of how
I've done my career and howI've tried to live my life.
And it pays back.
exponentially.
it's like, why doI deserve that?
I don't deserve any of this.
I have a family, I have ahouse over my head, I have
a little bit of money in thebank and everything, food upon
the table, like that's enough.
Cause when you compare itto like the rest of the
world, and if you lookglobally and like there
(26:01):
is atrocities going on.
you want to be able to helpeverywhere you possibly can,
but unless you've, I don'tjoin the peace corps, like I
can't go over there and solvethat, but what can I do here?
And now pick something you canput it through the perspective
of Jesus and start go.
Katie (26:17):
That's a very Great way to look at it, right?
I mean we can get overwhelmedeasily by the amount of things
happening in this world.
At any given time.
And what's amazing is I'vebeen listening to past stories
of presidents the world hasbeen a dumpster fire all
all along.
Like, you know, Imean, just like they're
talking about warsAll over, all the time.
(26:40):
And, and so I'm like, oh,well we're not the only ones
facing this dumpster fire.
Like this has happenedthroughout the course
of history, andthey're still okay.
Justin (26:48):
Every problem that is a human has been involved
with has been done before.
There's a lesson to learn.
If you like reading,if you like stories and
just talking with someonegreat, if you like watching
video, it's all there.
Just start searching forward.
See what it means to you.
Try implementing it inyour life and everything,
and you'll be amazed.
And obviously like having theconversation here, if you look
(27:09):
at it through the focus of ourfaith, and that's the gift.
I honestly, it's,that's how I felt it.
Without cost, thiswas given to you.
what am I now goingto do with it?
Mm.
Katie (27:19):
I, I'm grateful you've shared a lot of wisdom with
us today, but if you couldgive your younger self
one piece of advice, well,like we could think of it
as like, Haley's going tolisten to this podcast, right?
What, what adviceare you going to give give her?
Justin (27:33):
Right, it'd be like, listen to your father.
father.
try to listen to my father,like listen to your father.
But at the time,you don't want to do that.
I'm sure there's some thingsin life you look back on and
you're like, wow, I wish thatnever happened, or, I would've
done something differently.
But I think the part of lifeis the lessons you've learned
you're are fortunate enoughto make it through some
lessons and everything.
So there's a grain ofsalt that comes along
(27:54):
with that, but I wouldn'tchange anything about it.
I truly believe I don'tknow, call it intuition,
call it your consciousness,call it whatever it is.
If that is Jesus talkingto you, accept it for that
and don't think twice aboutit because the human side
of it is to just like, Hmm.
Right.
Cause I have freewill right here.
I can go that direction.
(28:15):
And there were multiple timesin my life, probably like
everybody else where he spoke.
And I didn't answer orI hung up or I hit delay
or silent or whatever.
And thankfully throughthe grace of God,
Katie (28:27):
I survived
Justin (28:27):
because there were plenty of times like call
it sheltered or whatever,or I was on a mission to get
somewhere in my athletics.
Like I didn't drink atall or party at all.
And then you get aroundfriends and there was one time
and you can't do anything inAmerica, so you go to Canada,
and I'm underage, I don'tknow what any of this is,
and you find yourself in anarea, and you're like, wow,
this is bad, I hope I survive,and by the grace of God you
(28:48):
do, and you've learned whatthat feeling feels like, and
Katie (28:51):
Do you try to not get there again.
Justin (28:52):
Right, exactly! exactly! Jesus speaks to all of
us in our own way, we'reall individuals, For me,
obviously, it's the silentbut steady voice within me and
I 100 percent believe that'sHim, the Holy Spirit, God
the Father, Jesus, answer.
Go.
He'll be there withyou and everything.
Open all the doors before you.
(29:12):
And then it's your life.
Make it what you want.
And for Haley, it'strying to open all the doors.
And that's the funthing about kids.
It's like, I wishI could give them knowledge,
at that level, knowledgeisn't a thing it's
activities and fun.
So for Haley, at least it'sjust playing games or doing
things where for me, I knowthe answer or the thing to
be chosen is more the Godlyway, as opposed to the, so
(29:32):
they're learning throughactivities.
So the fun part about beinga parent and everything
is setting that up.
And at the same time,the whole presence thing,
because, Brooke is asaint for what I do and
everything and she runs thehousehold.
And then when I come home andI might not be off work.
She gives me likea longer leash.
She'll me when I need tobe checked and very sternly,
(29:53):
but like rightfully so,because I'm very task
oriented, And she knowsI love her, love Haley
and everything, but I geton the path sometimes.
she'll just stop me andbe like, you're here now.
That's not my innerpresence, but if I believe
we are one under God andeverything, that's now
the pathway, the voicethat's speaking to me now.
Alright I'm here now.
(30:14):
I'm throwing her inthe air until I pass out.
Right?
Because in this moment, She'sgoing to learn Jesus through
her father for whatever itis, and I tried to do that,
Same thing with Brooke.
Same thing with anybodyin the family or anyone
you come across in life.
I can't tell you howmany times and Brooke
doesn't understand.
I don't understand it.
I'll just be at the gasstation at the shopping
mall or whatever.
And people just comeup to me and talk to me.
Brooke's like, whydo people do that?
(30:35):
I'm like, I don't know.
Because I think I walk aroundlike a stern face, but they
just walk up to you and it's,Jesus is the light of the world.
And if you inspirethat or bring that
about you, maybe you shine.
And when people walk up to youand everything, just again,
treat them like you wantto be treated like Jesus would,
because you might be theonly one that day who gives
them that look, that voice,and you don't know what
(30:57):
ripple effect that will have.
And I can tell you from theprofession that I've been
in and the change I've seenin people in their lowest
moments, that's all it takes.
It's not, it's difficult,but it's simple.
Just be there, reflect Jesus,and He will, He will come
out in whatever activity.
the more you practice it,I mean, truly believe it
(31:19):
in everything, like I said,random people just over and
over and over either walk upto you, come out to you, ask
for your help and everything.
It's like, that's not mebecause when I'm working,
I'm, I'm, I'm, I look atit as like a split thing.
Cause when I'm at home,I'm a very personal person.
Obviously we live on property,even though I grew up like
in the city and everything.
Once I was like, Oh mygosh, I don't have to have
people around, Likethis beautiful right
(31:39):
is How can we getcan we get more land?
When, when you go outshopping or we go to the
Toledo zoo during the summerall the time, there's people
everywhere.
people look around, theynotice others and everything.
And if you have all thesepeople just continually
coming up to you, talkingabout you again, there's
something else at work righthere.
And I just acceptedthat for what it is.
I truly believe it isJesus and everything.
(32:00):
All right.
What do you want to do today?
And I ask that all the time.
I don't go to confessionall the time, but it's like,
all right, it's Sunday.
I'm here at church.
We're about to goreceive the body and
blood of Christ Jesus, whatwipe away all my sins.
Make me as, white as cloth onthe day I was born come into
my life and work through me.
I'm the ship steer mewherever you want to go.
I'll bring a board,whoever needs to be brought
(32:20):
aboard and take themwherever they need to go.
And I just kept some typeof, Premise or core to
that with whatever I do andfor whatever reason my
life has been quote unquotegood I don't want to figure
it out this is how simpleof a creature I am it drives
Brooke wild and everythingbecause she is very future
oriented, thinks about a wholelot of stuff and everything
as she has to, becauselike, I live in the moment but
(32:45):
I truly believeit's just because
the Bible's forhowever it's written.
It's like, tomorrow'salready been won.
It's been overcome.
Let me have it.
If you have a care ofconcern, throw it upon me
in the moment.
Stay calm.
in Christ and thendo the very next
best thing you can.
Life isn't linear like thatbut that's how I control the
chaos around me
Katie (33:04):
And you could have a lot of chaos, I mean you got
Hayley you got Brooke you got
Justin (33:08):
That's my chaos though because you look at everybody
else and there's chaosall around and everything
Katie (33:12):
That's what I mean and you live in the world
of utter chaos, right?
I mean for like 21 hours a day.
That's tough
Justin (33:19):
That's my that's my creation
though, even the peopleI work with they're like
you are Something likewhy it's not worth it
but it's like I ifI truly believe Jesus put
me into my life for thistime, And I'm only gonna be
alive for who knows becauseall I have is the present
moment and what I was givenand what I choose to do with it.
(33:39):
So many hours in the day,I'm just going to throw
myself 100 percent into it.
And if I have a mission,obviously I teach, defensive
tactics, subject controlfor the state police.
There's means and methods,but the reason behind
why and the meaning.
Is going to answer alot of those questions.
it's going to be theexperience where you have
to learn that for yourself.
(34:01):
I have to create a learningenvironment where if it's
surrounded by Jesus peoplehave to learn the lessons
that thankfully I've beengiven over the course of
my life, what it meansfor them, and now all of
them can go all around thestate and everything and
spread Jesus far and wide.
And that's just, thankfully,the boat or vessel
that I currently haveSo it's like, well, you
know, yeah, I'll probablyhave dementia or Alzheimer's
pretty quickly becauseI don't sleep at all or
(34:22):
anything, And probablydon't have the greatest
of healthiest habits, butthis is how I view my days.
There'sa human element into that,
but I try to center everythingaround Jesus and just go.
Katie (34:34):
Well, I can't thank you enough for what you've
shared with us today.
We appreciate you beinghere and sharing your story
and it's an amazing story,but also to remind us that
everyone we encounter isJesus and to see him in them.
thank you so much, Justin,for joining us today.
Justin (34:50):
I never thought I'd do this.
it's funny, right?
I've been in a lot of likestressful situations and
You sent me a text messageyesterday and all of a
sudden, that was the moststress I've ever been under.
I was like, Oh no, what amI going to talk about then?
I'm like, Brooke,what, what do I do?
Right.
And she's like, just do whatyou do.
I don't know.
Like it's your story.
Katie (35:07):
And your story has a lot of different facets.
And so I'm grateful that youshared all of them with us.
Justin (35:12):
There's a lot, but hopefully, hopefully
there's something to take away.
If not, like I said,come up, come up to me.
We're trying to be achurch as much as we
Katie (35:19):
Well, thanks again for joining us
Justin (35:21):
Appreciate it.
Katie (35:21):
Once again, we thank you for joining us today.
We hope that wherever youfind an open seat in your
life, you will invitesomeone to join you.
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