
Mercy Needs a Border
[Intro] I keep a chair pulled out for every lonely heart I keep a little mercy ready before the story starts [Verse 1] You called me from the laundromat Your rent was late, your hands were cold I drove across the county line And let your whole hard week unfold You said you’d only need a night Then asked me what I thought of him I gave you every honest inch And watched my own room growing dim [Pre-Chorus] I know the ache behind your eyes I know the words you couldn’t say But every door I leave unlocked Lets something of my own life slip away [Chorus] I can wish you well without giving you my heart I can see your hurt and still know where I must part Every soul deserves a kindness, every wound deserves some care But I can’t make a home in every heart that needs me there [Verse 2] You cried beside the grocery carts About the friend who let you down I skipped the dinner I had planned And drove you safely back to town The next one swore he’d change by spring The next had nowhere else to go I learned to call my rescuing love Before I knew what love should know [Pre-Chorus] Compassion isn’t a vow To carry every weight alone A hand can help you find the stairs Without becoming your whole home [Chorus] I can wish you well without giving you my heart I can see your hurt and still know where I must part Every soul deserves a kindness, every wound deserves some care But I can’t make a home in every heart that needs me there [Bridge] I’m not the cure for every ache I’m not the answer to each plea I’ll sit with you until the morning But I won’t disappear to prove you need me [Group Chants] Care is not surrender! Mercy needs a border! [Final Chorus] I can wish you well and keep my own heart in my hands I can hear your hurt and still decline the role you planned Every soul deserves a kindness, every wound deserves some care I can love the world and choose the ones I carry there [Outro] I’ll leave a light on in my kindness And keep my own door in my care

