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With Easter around the corner, this is a nice story...........
Edith Burns was a
wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas. She was the patient of a
doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who
saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns.
One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because
of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat
Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to
a young mother sitting beside her.
Edith
Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way:
"Hello,
my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved.
Dr. Phillips walked into
that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly.
Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood
pressure. Edith began by saying, "My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?"
Beverly said, "Why, yes, I do."
Edith
said, "Well, what do you believe about Easter?"
Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts, going to church,
and dressing up."
Edith kept pressing her
about the real meaning of Easter, and finally led her to a
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don't call Edith into the office quite
yet. I believe there is another delivery taking place in
the waiting room."
After being called
back in the doctor's office, Edith sat down, and when she took
a look at the doctor she said, "Dr. Will, why are you so
sad? Are you reading your Bible? Are you praying?"
Dr Phillips said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor and you're
the patient." With a heavy heart he said, "Your lab
report came back and it says you have cancer, and Edith, you're
not going to live very long."
Edith said, "Why Will Phillips, shame on you. Why are you so
sad? Do you think God makes mistakes? You have just told me
I'm going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my
friends. You have just told me that I am going to celebrate
Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my
ticket!"
Dr. Phillips thought to himself,
"What a magnificent woman this Edith Burns is!"
Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips. Christmas
came and the office was closed through January 3rd. On
the day the office opened, Edith did not show up. Later
that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would
have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, "Will,
I'm very near home, so would you make sure that they put women
in here next to me in my room who need to know about
Easter."
Well, they did just that, and women
began to come in and share that room with Edith. Many
women were saved. Everybody on that floor from staff to
patients were so excited about Edith that they started calling
her Edith Easter; that is, everyone except Phyllis Cross, the
head nurse.
Phyllis made it plain that she
wanted nothing to do with Edith because she was a "religious
nut". She had been a nurse in an army hospital. She
had seen it all and heard it all. She was the original
G.I. Jane. She had been married three times, she was
hard, cold, and did everything by the book.
One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick. Edith had the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a
shot. When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face
and said, "Phyllis, God loves you and I love you, and I have
been praying for you."
Phyllis Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me. It
won't work and I'm not interested."
Edith said, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to let
me go home until you come into the family."
Phyllis Cross said, "Then you will never die because that
will never happen," and curtly walked out of the room.
Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and
Edith would say, "God loves you, Phyllis, and I love you, and
I'm praying for you."
One
day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's room
like a magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and
Edith said, "I'm so glad you have come, because God told me that
today is your special day."
Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody here the question,
'Do you believe in Easter?', but you have never asked me."
Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to wait
until you asked, and now that you have asked..."
Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter Story of
the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Edith said, "Phyllis, do you believe in Easter? Do you believe
that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?"
Phyllis Cross said, "Oh, I want to believe that with all of my heart,
and I do want Jesus in my life." Right there, Phyllis
Cross prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart. For the
first time Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room,
she was carried out on the wings of angels.
Two days later, Phyllis Cross came in and Edith said, "Do you
know what day it is?"
Phyllis Cross said, "Why Edith, it's Good Friday."
Edith said, "Oh, no, for you every day is Easter. Happy Easter, Phyllis!"
Two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis Cross came into work, did some
of her duties, and then went down to the flower shop and got
some Easter lilies, because she wanted to go up to see Edith,
give her some Easter lilies, and wish her a Happy Easter.
When she walked into Edith's room, Edith was in bed. That big black Bible
was on her lap. Her hands were in that Bible. There was a sweet smile
on her face. When Phyllis Cross went to pick up Edith's hand, she realized
Edith was dead. Her left hand was on John 14: 2-3 "In my Father's
house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again
and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
Her right hand was on Revelation 21:4: "And God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death nor sorrow, nor crying;
and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Phyllis Cross took one look at that dead body, and then lifted her face toward heaven, and
with tears streaming down her cheeks said, "Happy Easter, Edith --- Happy Easter!"
Phyllis Cross left Edith's body, walked out of the room and over to a table where two
student nurses were sitting. She said, "My name is Phyllis Cross. Do you
believe in Easter?"
HAVE A BLESSED
DAY!
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