Support Law Enforcement Couples

For Nathan and Karalee, it was a refuge for their struggling marriage and an open door to new life in Christ.

Your Christmas gifts will support and encourage law enforcement officials and their spouses through the Canadian Law Enforcement Appreciation Retreats.

Nathan and Karalee’s Story

Nathan* had a simple philosophy: “If I’m vulnerable, someone’s getting hurt or dying.”

He thought this mantra would keep him emotionally and spiritually healthy in his career as a Canadian police officer. But it nearly destroyed him and his marriage.

Years of dealing with traumatic, violent, on-the-job confrontations left him emotionally empty. “I came to a place of being numb to feeling or receiving love,” he said while his wife Karalee* listened by his side. “I was disengaged with Karalee and addicted to pornography. Nobody had any idea I was a broken toy.”

Karalee described how she confronted Nathan about his downward spiral, but was told, “This is who I am now.”

Their marriage was near the breaking point. That’s when the couple accepted a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association invitation to attend a law enforcement officers retreat. Those three days created the first positive momentum since their marital troubles began.

“I Wasn’t Alone, and I Felt Hope”

The retreat was a revelation for Karalee, who had spent two years asking God to restore the man she met and married. As she encountered other struggling couples and heard how the Lord was healing them, she came to realize, “I wasn’t alone, and I felt hope.”

After the retreat, a Christian friend challenged Nathan to surrender his life and his emotional struggles to Jesus Christ, who “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38, ESV).

Nathan said yes to the challenge and started working through a Bible-centered therapy book with his friend. “I finally developed a heart that truly wanted to pursue Christ,” he said.

*Photos changed to protect privacy.