A wonderful couple by the

name of Judy and Gene Glover and their daughter, Dawn,

and son-in-law, Sean, drive all the way from Newnan to

Fayetteville each Sunday and Wednesday to attend our

church in Fayetteville.

Judy sent me this e-mail in

honor of my mother, who just went to be with the lord

earlier this month. I would like to share it with you in

its entirety.

"The lady's name was

Edith Burns. She was a wonderful Christian who lived in

San Antonio, Texas. She was the patient of a fine

Christian 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. She was earnestly talking to a young

mother sitting beside her. Dr. Phillips knew why Edith

was there and what she was doing. You see, 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.' Well 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 into 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,

`Now 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 every day. Christmas came and the

office was closed through Jan. 3. 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 gloriously saved. Everybody on

that floor from staff to patients were so excited about

Edith that they started calling her Edith Easter;

everyone except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse. She 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 GI Jane. She had been married

three times, she was hard, cold, and did everything by

the book.

"Well, 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

flu 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, you religious nut, it

won't work. 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.'

"She walked out of the

room. Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into that 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!'

"Well, 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 and 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: `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 here cheeks,

said, `Happy Easter, Edith - happy Easter!'

"Well, 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?'"

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon

is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC), a

substitute school teacher in the Fayette County school

system, and a former Army chaplain. The church is

currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across

from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville. Prayer

line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected] .