Need You Near

"Need You Near" is a beautiful song that my friend Sophie Eicher wrote, and my sister has had the opportunity to sing on a number of occasions. It had been resonating in my head for a couple weeks straight... and I just had the sense that I should prepare to share it somewhere. There were a couple "almost" opportunities... but then I just sort of wrote it off like I probably wouldn't share it any time soon. I thought maybe it was just my own selfish desire to share such a pretty song, and I also thought I probably didn't know it well enough anyway, and I'd just mess it up... I don't know, all sorts of random rationalizations tend to float through my head on a regular basis about things like this, haha. Would you knock it off, silly, deceitful devil!

Anyhoo, so then last weekend... boom, boom, boom... not one, not two, but THREE opportunities right in a row.

First at the Brazilian church congregation that I was able to visit for the second time last Saturday night. I have made some special friends there, and I just absolutely love the spirit of worship with that "BASIC" body (Brothers And Sisters In Christ). The first time I was there, I had been asked and planned to share a few songs with them. This time I had returned with no plan, only for the sole purpose of wanting to see them again and fellowship together in beautiful worship! But out of the blue in the middle of the service the pastor says, "and now Meggan will bless us with one song." ...or yeah, something like that. :) And... sweet, I kinda sensed it right before he said it... and then he said it (in Porteguese of course, so I still wasn't exactly for sure what was going on, haha), and then I had no doubt this was my chance to share the song. :) And I'm grateful God could use it as a blessing for my dear friends there!!

I thought that was it... but on Sunday two more opportunities happened! :) That afternoon, one of my best friends, "my younger sister" Ioanna, invited me and some other beautiful girls over to her house for lunch. She had told me they had a piano at her place that I could play, and I had been eager for the opportunity to get over there to do so! ;) AND SO, there, again... I was able to share the song with those girls.

And THEN, that night at our "House of Worship" event, we had a beautiful time of prayer together for our friends after a wonderful message from Matthew 14, about Jesus trying to convince his disciples to trust him that he truly was the Son of God. And would they respond, step out of the boat and follow him? He wanted them near him. And they needed to recognize that they needed him NEAR!! They needed to intimately know the voice of their Lord, master, Jesus. :) And I just knew I needed to share that song. It fit as a nice transition between their time of prayer into more songs of beautiful worship together.

Ah, so great...
I'll post the link to my sister singing it on YouTube. Ignore the poor quality on a few of the more powerful notes, sorry. :) Ah, Morgan, where are you.. I miss singing with you. Come to Greece ASAP!!! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmcwk3NIvzM