In light of the fact that this week marks the 120^th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Geisel Dr. Seuss, I offer this invocation in the spirit of the good doctor.

Creator God,
for those who fight fires
and those who save lives,
for those who retrieve cats
in trees way up high.

For those who administrate
recruit and train,
for those who crunch numbers
amid losses and gains.

For chaplains who comfort
the grieving and scared,
for dispatchers and clerks
and the heartache they’ve shared.

For evenings like this when
we honor our own
and pause to remember
by what we are known:

Our selfless devotion.
The power of we.
The service we render
to help others be
assured of our care
when their world’s crashing in
with questions of why?
What and where? How and when?

For these things
and for the food we are about to eat,
Good Lord, we give You thanks. Amen.