EDNAS PRAYER FOR ED (At Ed's Bed)
(This is a continuation poem to follow Eds' Prayer, a spoken version is available on soundcloud
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
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