A Captain’s Prayer

It was almost noon when the men from Station 51’s A-shift silently headed out of the station and towards the comfort of their homes. It had been a bad one. A huge warehouse fire. It was well past the normal shift change before the men returned to the station. They were dazed and tired as they parted company. In strange unison, the 6 shift-mates paused to look at each other before getting into their cars. A look of caring and friendship passed each man’s face.

Captain Hank Stanley was lost in thought. He had been too tired to change. He looked like hell. He even smelled like the fires of the hell that he had just spent the night in. As he drove, the sounds of church bells lead him to the small white church that he so often passed without notice. He pulled up across the street and without even realizing it, he found himself stepping through the welcoming doors.

He quietly made his way to a pew near the front of the church. For awhile, he sat gazing at the alter and looking at the beauty of the stained glass window beyond. He wasn’t aware of his thoughts. Nor was he aware of the minister who silently approached and observed him from a few pews back.

The minister thought about the man and the fact that by the uniform he was wearing, he was obviously a fireman. He guessed he must be from the nearby fire station. While he had never visited the station nor met any of the men who worked there, he said a prayer for them every time he heard the sirens sound. He sat observing the man a bit longer. The minister feared that the church’s visitor had fallen asleep as Cap had sat unmoving for so long. Just as the minister had decided to approach him, Cap raised his head and began to speak.

“God, I know I don’t speak with you as often as I should. In fact, it’s been awhile. But, I - I need to…I – I want to talk with you today.”

The minister listened, waiting for the fireman to continue. “You know, they say we go where angels fear to tread. I know that’s not true. I know that every time we respond to a fire or a rescue, Your angels are there with us. They go where we go. You go where we go. Early this morning, 3 new angels came to meet You. They were good men, God. They died doing a job they loved. They died saving others. Please be with their families – their wives and children. Their parents and sisters and brothers. And, please be with their family at the station, too. Please help Captain Link and his men to understand and accept this. Please continue be with the entire Department as You have in the past.”

Captain Stanley paused to wipe the tears from his face. “Thank You for protecting my men, God. They are a fine group of men.” A smile crossed Cap’s face. “But, You know that. You’ve been with us everywhere we’ve gone. You’ve watched. You’ve participated. You’ve comforted and You’ve consoled. You’ve been our partner in every dance with danger.”

“You have truly blessed me with the best crew a captain could ask for. Thank you so very, very much. You have given us so many opportunities to grow – to learn together. We have become a family, God. I pray to You for the safety of that family. I don’t know what I would do if I lost any of my men, God. I don’t know what I’d do if I were Captain Link today. I’d cry. I’d pray to You for all of the strength You could give me. I’d be devastated. But, I would hope that eventually I would remember the good times. Yes, along with the bad times, there have been so very many good times. Thank you for those times, God. All of them – good and bad. Sharing the bad times has made us just as much a family as sharing the good ones.”

Cap sat silently for a few minutes. The thought of losing any of his crew left him momentarily unable to speak. He had seen it today. The grief of losing co-workers. And while he saw it and felt it from a distance, he knew the emotions were nothing that would come close to what he would experience if that had been one of his men who had fought his last fire, saved his last life. And three. The thought was beyond comprehension.

“My God!” Cap said it before he realized it. “My God, please help me – help all of us - through whatever the future holds. God, please send your newest angels to protect us, too. And please, God, please keep coming to the dance.”

Not sure of what else to say, not sure of how to express his other thoughts at this time, Captain Hank Stanley made the sign of the cross and whispered, “Amen.”

The minister followed with an ‘Amen’ of his own. He decided that on Sunday, the entire congregation would pray for the men of the local fire station and for the entire fire department. Yes, they too would pray that God would be a willing and active partner in all of the dances with danger that the men would be required to attend.

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The End