Take care of us today, O God.
Take care of my family, as our paths part and merge.
Take care of friends I miss, though they feel so close.
Take care of children around the earth, who step cautiously into this new day.
We are all growing up in the same world.
Take care of us today, O God.
Take care of the people on that airplane; keep them safe.
Take care of those kids, starting another week of school.
Take care of the rushing stream of commuters, who know the daily grind.
May they each find a moment to breathe in peace.
Take care of us today, O God.
Take care of the homeless, stressed for food and shelter.
Take care of sick babies, surrounded by tubes and machines.
Take care of the aging, separated from loved ones into corporate “homes.”
Too often we forget those who need us most.
Take care of us today, O God.
Take care of us like you take care of the bird:
Lifted in instinctive faith by invisible air currents,
Sharply defined against the landscape by the rising sun;
You would know if even this one little bird–out of millions–fell.
Take care of us today, O God.
Take care of us like you take care of the tree:
Peaked with color in autumn after the fullness of summer,
Statuesque and asleep while snow falls around it;
You give the tree rebirth with the dawning of each spring.
Take care of us today, O God.
Take care of us because we are not birds or trees:
We struggle for the confident faith of the bird in flight;
We dread the discomfort of rebirth in our springtimes;
We worry that we are too complex to be cared for simply.
So take care of us today, O God.
Take care of us, in Jesus’ name.