DO
YOU BELIEVE IN EASTER?
WERE
YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUXIFIED MY LORD - MIDI
Edith Burns was a wonderful
Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas. She was the patient
of 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. 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 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!"
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?"
