Comforting Father.
Sustaining Provider.
Shield of grace and mercy.
I thank You, that You hear my whisper.
I marvel, that You see each and every one...
Each soldier...
And each heart holding them
With heartstrings which wrap the world.
Not a corner of land or sea or sky
Eludes the cover of Your hand.
Tonight,
Beneath this slip of a crescent moon,
Sleeping,
Stirring,
Watch keeping,
They carry on.
Some gaze upon this very wisp of light,
Under which I pause,
Seeking all that is You.
Tears spill from their banks,
For want of home,
For want of family,
For want of strength,
For want of peace.
Only You know each silent call.
Only You can answer each heart.
Only You possess the storehouse of reserves they seek...
Abundantly.
Some kneel tonight
By bedside and lamplight
On knees now stiff from time
With thankful hearts,
Memories quilted into richest tapestry,
Praying the same for their comrades.
Living lives of honor
To oaths pledged decades before
In times of war,
In times of peace.
They are my family.
They are my friends.
Where both night falls
And morning dawns.
How grateful my heart.
Humble as it may be...
Magnify my prayer, Lord.
May it rest upon these names I speak
These faces I know...
And those countless I will never see.
Lord, embrace each one...
In tenderness...
In might.
Amen.