Please bless the stranger
in the faded uniform.

Give him the peace
of a career well-served,
and a service completed.
Give him my thanks
for the doors he opened,
the paths he paved,
the battles he spared us.

Please bless the stranger
in the muddy uniform.
Hold her bold heart
in the calm of Your capable hands,
until she can feel
the peace of home again.
Give her my thanks
for the freedoms she preserves,
the future she defends,
the ideals she embodies.

Please bless the children

admiring the uniform.

Guide them as they grow,

drawing then into Your wisdom,

into Your strength.

Give them my thanks
for all that this world can and will be
because of them—
Your strong and selfless soldiers.