In Progress

03/16/2025

Today in Mississippi we faced some pretty hairy weather. For days, meteorologist have been predicting tornado formations, hail, high winds, and aggressive thunderstorms. And as we prepped and monitored weather today I found myself thinking back to a fuzzy memory of my first tornado experience.

I was around 8 years old, it was a warm day and we had gone to a friend’s house to swim. We were having a great time until all of a sudden a storm came on us and we quickly heard sirens. I remember rushing in the house wrapped in towels, soaking wet, scared to death of the sounds I was hearing outside. And after l several minutes, that felt like an eternity, it was over. Once we realized it was safe, we got in the truck and crept down the road, rolling over debris hoping we could make the less than 2 mile trek home. The closer we got the more nervous I got because there was just so much damage in my little mind. We pulled in the driveway to see our house still standing with superficial damage, but as we walked down the acres of our horse pasture everything I loved seemed to be changed. I remember looking at my mom in that moment and saying, “It will never be the same again.”

Tonight someone reading this is sitting in that moment. That place of hurt where it feels like it will never be the same again. Life happened, the tornado came, and your just left with the wreckage. Shattered pieces you don’t have the energy to try and put back together.

Tonight friend I want to tell you what that little girl thought was broken beyond repair became normal and joyful again. Time passed, flowers and trees regrew, round pens replaced, new trails forged and the chaos of the storm became peace again. In short it was restored.

And that will be the same for your storm, too. In the moment chaos is reigning and you feel life will never look the same again, stop and breath friend. It will take time, hard work, and intention to find the small joys in the hard moments each day. But, you will find your normal again. Your joy again. Take this as your sign of hope. Declare it. Seek it. Believe it. I know here it’s hard to believe, so I will believe for the both of us. Hang on, the sun is coming. -Hannah

“And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up. And he has all the power needed to do this —forever! Amen.” 1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭TPT‬‬

12/10/2024

Hello In Progress Family! I know it has been a while since you last heard from us, and during this time the pause button was hit to see where God is leading this organization, focusing on our family, and mental health as we have transitioned to the civilian world. With that in mind, we know how hard this season can be for families emotional, spiritually, and financially, so we have decided to share financially what we have. Now, as we have not been actively fundraising in quite some time, it’s not much, but we have decided to give all we can this season.

We have decided to give TWO $200 gift cards to first responder families this Christmas, to help cover gifts and expenses.

We NEED YOUR HELP! If there is a first responder family in your station or community that needs some help this Christmas, we ask that you nominate them by DM us their story and why you thought of them. We will be accepting nominations through FB messenger only (for privacy) until December 16th. Then the In Progress Board will convene, read all the entries, and distribute the gift cards that week based on the families they feel have the greatest need.

If you would like to give to the Christmas fund so that we can bless more families, you are welcome to donate to our PayPal linked below.

As we said we are giving all we have, meaning we will donate 100% of all donations and everything In Progress has left in the bank. We want to turn the stockings inside out and leave 2024 with ZERO dollars in the account to bless others! Also, please share this post for others that may not follow the page, we would love to see this reach as many people as we can.

As always, we love you IP Fam and are forever grateful for your love and support of the first responder community! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out via DM or email. We look forward to blessing others this holiday season. Merry Christmas! -The Hatchers

https://www.paypal.me/inprogressleo

07/25/2024

❤️

07/23/2024

Letter to Judas

Judas, dear brother, fellow believer in Christ and His faithful. My heart breaks, not for you but for the those of us who look at you as a traitor and sellout. For all of us who have never understood the reasons it was you. The reasons we all have turned on Jesus. Sold Him out or betrayed Him in our everyday lives.

My, how easy it is to look at you, blame you, curse you, and hate you. How could you? Why? You bastard! Oh the hypocrisy!

I can’t wait to sit with you in heaven and talk to you! The piece of the puzzle God installed to complete His redemptive plan to save each of us! You Sir, I can’t wait to shake your hand, look you in the eye and say hello to myself!

Judas, I am you. We are you. You have outlined our lives and showed us exactly how and why grace exists! How easy it is to fall. Fall to sin. In your case it was greed. In my case it’s lust, in others it’s gluten, in many its pride, in the populous it’s ________, fill in the blank.

We hate you because we have been taught that you got our loving master killed. No Judas, you fulfilled THE plan. You were the piece that was needed to complete the masterpiece. So why the confusion, controversy, and contempt against you?

Have I not denied Him too? Have I not sold him out too? Have I defended Him not too? Have I not failed my wife, (the one I’m supposed to love as Christ loved the church), His example of love on this earth? Have I not withheld tithe too, (silver)? Have I not… I have. I am Judas too.

Judas you were chosen to follow Jesus for a reason! Just as I have been called to follow Jesus, there is a plan for my life. That plan is to show the Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Love Jesus has for each of us! In all my sin, betrayal, and filth Jesus calls me His. You my brother are His and I wanted to say, I forgive you. I love you. And thank you, for letting God use you to save us all! -Harrison

12/19/2023

We are so blessed to have been able to share our story with Life After Infidelity! Check out our episode on Spotify and Apple podcast as we discuss our experience in the context of first responder life. -The Hatchers

Listen to this episode from Life After Infidelity on Spotify. Embark on a heart-wrenching yet courageous journey with Harrison and Hannah, as they bare their souls and share their raw infidelity journey. This episode of "Life After Infidelity" podcast is not just another story; it's a testament to t...

11/12/2023

We had a great time at C.O.P.S Wellness and Trauma Conference this weekend! I was able to connnect and network with several resources throughout the weekend and wanted to put together a resources post for you guys! These organizations are located thorughout the nation and work with individual responders as well as departments. I have discovered through this conference that there are so many wellness programs being developed at departments, which is a breath of fresh air and gives us hope! Many of these organizations are fighting to help these programs thrive and get started up in a strong and effective way to create multidimensional programs. If you have any questions let me know! -Hannah

11/07/2023

Any one going to the C.O.P.S. Conference in Orlando this week? If so stop by the Fetch Your Wealth table and say hello! I would love to meet you! -Hannah

10/07/2023

“Reliving the trauma over and over again, is like… living it over and over again.” Retired SGT Major, Tom Satterly.

Trauma is such a unique thing that no one talks about. As warriors, protectors, soldiers, officers, firemen, we flip the switch and complete the mission. No matter the missions’ difficulties we adapt, grit, vomit, kill, and move on to overcome the barrier of the mission. These things change us internally. We literally kill off part of who we are to complete the job at hand. Its exciting in the moments, exhilarating in fact… which leads to the addiction of adrenaline. Often, at the cost of our own lives.

22 a day. 22 combat veterans a day die by su***de. According to the CDC, “Law enforcement officers and firefighters are more likely to die by su***de than in the line of duty. Furthermore, EMS providers are 1.39 times more likely to die by su***de than the public. Studies have found that between 17% and 24% of public safety telecommunicators have symptoms of post-traumatic stress and 24% have symptoms of depression. While telecommunicators are often the very first responders engaged with those on scene, research on their su***de risk and mental health has lagged.”

These are staggering numbers. When do we take this seriously?

Who bears the front of this? Our spouses and our children. While it is heart wrenching to have a loved one die in the line of duty, or die in war, or in an accident. The human mind can eventually, over time, begin to heal from loss, though extremely difficult. To have that same loved one complete the call, return from deployment, or live through the accident, what damage was done while there? Then that damage brings shame, guilt, and anxiety few understand but many go through. If this damage goes unresolved and that loved one takes their life, there is no pain to compare to the bottom of that pit for those closest to the one.

Unresolved post trauma stress is like a big colorful children’s book, the ones with the sound buttons on the side and the big red steering wheel with the yellow squeaky button for a horn. The human brain is like the perfect encyclopedia bookcase. All books in order A-Z, everything has its place, except that kid’s book. It’s too big, does not match, and no matter how hard you try, you cannot shelve the awkward book. What do you do with the book? It ends up in your hand all the time, or in this case in your conscious mind, on loop.

This produces terror, anger, contention, confusion, brain fog, lack of empathy and compassion. All this is because we just do not know what to do with this book. And that is normal. The trauma isn’t normal, the lack of knowledge of what to do with it is.

While we do not know what to do with this trauma our kids and spouses are caught in the middle of these internal emotions we are having. They don’t understand why daddy or mommy is the way they are, they were fine before that shift, that call, or that deployment. Kids ask, “Why are they so angry now?” Or We loved the old daddy more. Spouses, “I just want my husband/wife back.”

As the person dealing with that trauma, you are aware of your actions but don’t know how to fix it. You see the pain you are causing the ones you love and then shame, and guilt begins setting in. Thoughts of self-harm, and inadequacy move in… they are better off without me. Trauma attracts more trauma if we allow it. Only the person who has endured the trauma can accept the help to resolve the missed placed book.

“I just wanted to be angry. And she took me down the path of showing me who I was in a mirror. Something I had never done before, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how I was behaving to people that… people I love, people I’m supposed to protect, but I’m the monster. So, I can protect her from everybody but me. Who lives with her the most, and knows her every weakness, and uses it against her… yet I am here to protect her. So many go through that. So many enter that shame cycle. By saying something or by physically doing something, and “I’m sorry” isn’t good enough anymore. Then the cycle starts of, I’m no good, I’m worthless, I should just take my life, you know this and that. But Jen had that… patience, I don’t think she had the knowledge of what to do with it, but she had the patience and the love of a person who understood trauma, and just stuck with it. She shouldn’t have, she shouldn’t have, but she did.” – Ret. SGT Major Tom Satterly

See our spouses are uniquely qualified to help us. Point out in us the things we need to work on. It’s up to us, as those who have been through trauma, to seek help. You are lashing out on them, your safe place, your family, and that is just inducing trauma onto them. We must seek, speak, and let out, in a controlled and safe place, the traumas we have been through, seen, and endured. Without getting it out, reading that child’s book out loud, memorizing it, and coming to a place of understanding with yourself about the triggers, we are subjects to the statistics.

Seek the help! You are worth it!

-Harrison

Full interview: https://youtu.be/qnep1hTSKKw?si=98-pu61SoQwaMXhk