Meine engen Grenzen
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| "Meine engen Grenzen" | |
|---|---|
| Christian poem and hymn | |
 Eugen Eckert in 2008 | |
| English | My narrow limits |
| Written | 1981 |
| Text | by Eugen Eckert |
| Language | German |
| Melody | by Winfried Heurich |
| Performed | 1981 |
"Meine engen Grenzen" ("My narrow limits") is a Christian poem by Eugen Eckert, written in 1981, and made a hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied with a melody and setting by Winfried Heurich the same year.[1] The song, bringing one's shortcomings and limitations before God and praying for a broader perspective, is part of the common German Protestant and Catholic hymnals, and of other songbooks.
The poem was written by the Protestant theologian and minister Eugen Eckert from Frankfurt, who has taken care of students, the football arena, and persons outcast by society.[2] He wrote the text when he, as minister of a home for girls in difficult circumstances, was unable to help one of the girls.[1] The topic is bringing one's shortcomings before God and praying for a broader perspective.[1]
Eckert and Heurich are regarded as prolific authors of songs of Neues Geistliches Lied (New sacred song), and "Meine engen Grenzen" as one of their most successful songs.[3] It became part of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch, in Baden-Württemberg as EG 589,[1][4] and in Rheinland / Westfalen / Lippe as EG 600.[2][4] It also appears in the German common Catholic hymnal Gotteslob as GL 437, in the section Bitte and Klage (request and lament).[5] The song is part of many other hymnals and songbooks.[6]