The Dispatcher's Prayer

Dear Lord, help me keep safe those who depend on me. Give me

healthy ears, for they are my link with those who need me. Keep my

mind sharp and alert, my fingers quick and nimble. Grant that I never

forget how to do ten things at once, and do them all equally well.

Bless me with patience Lord. Patience to deal with the public, with the

officers, with the boss, and with everyone else who makes me want to

grit my teeth and yell.

Give me nerves of steel, that I may listen to a mother screaming for

her child to live, the man with a gun, or an officer yelling for backup,

and not give way to panic.

Grant me empathy that I may help the battered wife, the rape victim,

the abused child, and not cause them more pain than they already have.

God, give me the ability to learn what I need, to remember it quickly,

and give me the wisdom to use the knowledge properly.

Bless my family Lord, for they will have to make sacrifices to shift

work, overtime, canceled plans, and times when I just can't take on

one more thing. Help them understand the missed ball games, school

programs, and dinners for two.

Lord, give me courage. Courage to persevere when I feel

undervalued, unappreciated, overworked, and unrecognized. Courage

to keep trying when I feel in my heart it's hopeless.

Last of all Lord, help me to never forget why I chose to do this job in

the first place, to never lose sight of what is important in the midst of

the stress. Help me to remember that I make a difference, however

small it may seem some days, and that I matter.

I am a dispatcher Lord. Grant me peace.

Nadine Clark