A faint reminder

It’s not every day you faint at a police station.

A few Mondays ago, I attended the Citizens Police Academy, where we learned about crime scene investigation, the fascinating lab work you often see on TV, like detectives dusting for fingerprints. 

Ironically, the supervisor asked if anyone had ever fainted at the sight of blood. But the drying chamber full of blood-soaked clothes wasn’t what caused me to faint.

One minute, I was standing with the group in a ballistics testing area, soaking in the lesson, when I began to feel a bit stuffy. 

I stepped out of the small room to get some fresh air. Suddenly, it felt like the air had been sucked out of the space.

My vision blurred, and I started to feel dizzy. I think I raised my hand and said, “Excuse me? I don’t feel well.” 

My ears began to ring, and I felt incredibly heavy. Before I knew it, I was on the ground with my concerned classmates looking down at me.

Classmates started waving notebooks and folders to cool me down. I started chugging water as if it were liquid gold. 

The supervisor shone a bright light in my eye and asked me where I was, what year it was, and who the president was. I aced the exam in short answers: “Police station? 2025? Trump?”

The combination of heat, standing in one place for too long, my lack of eating, and not drinking water finally caught up to me. Waves of dizziness washed over me as I tried to stay conscious and answer more questions. 

Did I eat? Kind of, a small snack on the way. 

Am I diabetic? Prediabetic, on medication. 

Have I fainted before? Yes, at a fall festival. (What a coincidence.)

One of my classmates suggested I may have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). That made the most sense. Sometimes I feel dizzy if I stand up too quickly.

Thankfully, I was okay. Within 15 minutes, I had returned to normal and was joking with the class instructor. I left early for safety’s sake and was able to drive home.

The experience definitely made a lasting impression on me, not just because it was embarrassing. (I enjoy being in the spotlight, but not in that way.) 

It served as a wake-up call, highlighting the importance of self-care. I realized how hard I had been pushing myself and how I was neglecting my body’s needs.

Between work and home, I was running on empty, ignoring my body and saying, “I’ll rest later.” But later never came. My body said, “You’re resting now, whether you like it or not!”

Sometimes, God doesn’t require a grand revelation. Instead, He gently reminds us to take care of ourselves before we fall. This experience was, in essence, a spiritual nudge toward self-care.

It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 6:19, where it says our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. I’ve seen that verse a million times, but in that moment, it hit different. Overexerting myself isn’t healthy, and a broken vessel can’t hold water.

So this week’s reminder is simple. Drink some water. Eat something green. Get enough sleep. And don’t wait until you’re lightheaded at the police department to realize you need a break.