Not too far from here

Somebody's down to their last time

Somebody's running out of time

Not too far from here

Somebody's got nowhere else to go

Somebody needs a little hope

Not too far from here

And I may not know their name

But I'm praying just the same

That You'll use me Lord to wipe away a tear

Cause somebody's crying

Not too far from here

Somebody's troubled and confused

Somebody's got nothing left to lose

Not too far from here

Somebody's forgotten how to trust

Somebody's dying for love

Not too far from here

It may be a stranger's face

But I'm praying for Your grace

To move in me and take away the fear

Cause somebody's hurting

Not too far from here

Help me Lord not to turn away from pain

Help me not to rest while those around me weep

Give me Your strength and compassion

When somebody finds the road of life too steep

Somebody's troubled and confused

Somebody's got nothing left to lose

Not too far from here

Somebody's forgotten how to trust

And somebody's dying for love

Not too far from here

Now I'm letting down my guard

And I'm opening my heart

Help me speak Your love to every needful ear

Someone is waiting not too far from here

Someone is waiting not too far from here

This is a song that Sarah asked me to listen to. She heard it from the radio. If it was me, it would have probably just be a song which doesn't impact me much, not til I take a closer look at the lyrics.

I find it rather true, that most of the times our prayers just focus on things which happen to ourselves, especially when there are no prayer points mentioned. Even during prayer meetings, sometimes we struggle finding things to pray for.

I think since NEEC, I' was more able to take a step back and look at a bigger picture, to see not only things which happen in my own world, to see not only my needs, and to appreciate things as a whole. It started with NEEC's theme this year (church without walls). It was a rather deep topic. Before that, I rarely considered the church as a whole, what more the relationships and links between churches of different backgrounds, different nations.

Well, maybe it's still too soon or too big a thing for me to consider these issues. To put it in other words, maybe I am still a bit too small to bring about any big contributions. But this song reminded me that there are still so much things that I can actually do, so as everyone else.

I see that I can actually be a bit more sensitive (maybe sometimes just a bit more would be sufficient) to people around me, to things around me, so that I can see the needs. These needs may be just a word of encouragement, a listening ear, a helping hand, a simple hug or a simple prayer that we can utter to God anywhere, anytime. These needs may be something small which are often neglected, but may be significant to someone who needs them. Our responses to these needs then, can totally change the day of others, maybe from feeling lonely to feeling loved, from sorrow to joy, from feeling empty to feeling blessed.

Often, we just can't be bothered. But why? Laziness seem to be a big thing to us nowadays. Try to think back, what did you feel lazy to do for the past one day? Were you

lazy to start studying?

lazy to reply people's texts?

lazy to go get a cup of water or to wash up dishes from dinner?

lazy to go out when someone asked you to?

The list can go on and on.. Sometimes maybe it doesn't matter that much when it's about our own stuff. We can be lazy to do something for ourselves and catch up on work when we feel more like doing it. But what if it comes to people around us? If they need someone to listen or someone to talk to, have we ever turned them down because we just don't feel like listening or talking at that time? Well, I guess I have.

Who knows, when will it be the last times we get to talk to someone? Sometimes a lot of trust is put on us when we're approached for help.

Just wanna pray that we'll be a bit more sensitive, to just know it, when people need us, and we'll just offer to be there, to help if we can, even by just the simplest ways. Hopefully we won't disappoint people around us. Give them hope, and show them love when they need them. These we are able to give, because God had given to us.

Random thoughts gathered at random hours,

Yee Kuan