Mom's empty chair- e-mail- Patriocia Richards Whitehead PHS 50

Subject: MOM'S EMPTY CHAIR






A woman's daughter had asked the local Minister to come and pray with her

mother. When the

minister arrived, he found the woman lying in bed with her head propped up

on two pillows.



An empty chair sat beside her bed. The minister assumed that the woman had

been informed of

his visit.



'I guess you were expecting me, he said.



'No, who are you?' said the mother.



The minister told her his name and then remarked,



'I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up.



'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden woman. 'Would you mind closing the

door?'



Puzzled, the minister s hut the door. '



I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,' said the woman. 'But

all of my life I have

never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about

prayer, but it went right

over my head.' I abandoned any attempt at prayer,' the old woman continued,

'until one day four

years ago, my best friend said to me, ' Prayer is just a simple matter of

having a conversation with

Jesus.



Here is what I suggest. 'Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front

of you, and in faith see

Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you

always'. 'Then just

speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now.'



'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours

every day. I'm careful though. If

my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous

breakdown or send

me off to the funny farm.'



The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old woman to

continue on the

journey. Then he prayed with her, anointed her with oil, and returned to the

church.



Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her mama had

died that afternoon.



Did she die in peace?' he asked.



Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, she called me over to her

bedside, told me she loved

me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later,

I found her .



But there was something strange about her death. Apparently, just before Mom

died, she leaned

over and rested her head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of

that?'



The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, 'I wish we could all go

like that.'





Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.



* I asked God for water, He gave me an ocean.

* I asked God for a flower, He gave me a garden.

* I asked God for a friend, He gave me all of YOU...



If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.



Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

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Subject: Fw: MOM'S EMPTY CHAIR