## 61:2
%% 4
> The Rock Higher Than I
>> From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Occasion: Bad news from far away

Lord, news has come from far away,
and the miles landed all at once ---
a name I know and love,
a place I cannot reach by nightfall.

I don't know what to do with this distance.
My mind keeps traveling to where my body cannot go,
imagining what is happening,
wondering what will happen next.
I want to help, 
but I don't know what help is needed.

Take this helplessness before it hardens.
Show me how to love across the miles.
Give me the words to pray,
and keep me from filling the silence
simply because I am afraid of it.

I want to be there with my hands and heart,
not here only waiting for news.
The waiting does not feel passive;
it takes all the strength I have
not to be carried away by fear.

Be the rock under those I cannot hold.
Be the ground under me too,
so I do not fall apart while I wait,
and wait,
and wait.

I cannot cross these miles tonight.
But You can.
I cannot stand beside them.
But You are there already.

Hold us all through this long distance,
and give me grace for what I can do now.

Amen.