EDNAS PRAYER FOR ED (At Ed's Bed)
You might
remember a story that once went around
Bout a
gatherin’ of church folks in my old home town
There was
quite a ruckus caused by a prayer that was said
By a new
member of the flock, a man named Ed
Now I saw Ed
once again a few years back, as a favor
and I
thought to ask him if he remembered that prayer
It hadn’t
been forgotten like prayers one usually hears
It had
stayed there in my memory throughout the years
Ol’ Eds’
looks hadn’t changed a lot since then
Course his
hair was whiter and his back was bent
You could
see he was in there behind all the wrinkles
by the
slight smile and the way his eyes would twinkle
He’s the
same guy who passed the hat and winked at me
But
somethin’ was diff’rent and that was plain to see
You could
see there was somethin’ else inside his mind
Something
had changed inside him with the passin’ of time
It was like
he was watchin’ something that was hard to see
And when he
fin’lly caught the time and place, he looked at me
He said son
a lot
of waters passed under the bridge since then
sometimes
things just change and you don’t know when
I was
younger and still pretty mad ‘bout all the things I’d lost
It seemed to
me that all that God stuff had just too much cost.
Cause with
all that had happened I just wasn’t sure
That goin’
to church and prayin’ would hold any cure
that stupid
ol’ prayer was just one way of shakin’ my fist
to shout at
a God I was sure didn’t even exist
My wife she
was purty quiet on the way home that day
After the
way I had acted there wasn’t much she could say
My prayer
really wasn’t one, and that was real plain to see
She was so
embarrassed I wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive me.
That night
when she knelt down to pray
I was quite
surprised at what she had to say
I was sure
she wanted God to make me pay
For the
unthankful things that I said that day
She told God
that I just couldn’t understand
Why He
didn’t give in to our simple demands
And why He
gave man the freedom of choice
To follow,
or not, direction of the Spirits small voice
I heard her
ask God to give me some proof
And to show
His loves personal and not so aloof.
Let him know
this Lord for You sent us your Son
To wash
clean mans sins since his time was begun
I waited for
Ed as he paused, for a minute or two
Recalling
Gods small whisper about what to do
He said He
told me
To give
thanks for all things whether big or small
And to read
about Job from whom Satan took all.
Bad things
can happen Ed, but it’s not all just a test
Practice
Faith, Hope, and Charity to clean up a mess.
The next
morning Ed remembered his wife’s prayer for proof
As church
members kept commin’, some patched up his roof
He watched
in amazement as those neighbors built him a shed
It was like
they all had forgotten the kinda prayer that he’d said
They all
worked together, built a new barn and filled it with hay
Ed said he
learned a lot about forgiveness in just that one day
And that to
love your neighbor is more than just Gods plea
It’s a way
of healin’ the pain that hides in you and in me.
He said to
remember Hope’s a thing that let’s man keep on goin
And faith is
belief in the good things without them really showin’
The wealth
in our worlds are just work and things to tend
The real
wealth and riches are God, our family and friends
Now I
watched as Ed lay there restin’on that hospital bed
I wondered
what thoughts were goin’ on there in his head
I could tell
he had faith and could hear what God had to say
‘Cause Ol’
Ed he smiled, he winked, and then quietly he slipped away
Now I’m sure
when ol Ed got to Heaven they all had a good laugh
About how
Eds prayer had cleared up his path
And his
wife’s prayer for The Spirit to give Ed the proof
And how The
Spirit used Ed’s neighbors, to show him the truth.
I’m sure
I’ll see ol’ Ed again
He’ll wink,
and smile and say
Welcome
friend
