Fw: The Chair!!

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A friend sent me this, I thought you all would appreciate it...
God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving Day to you all.
Lynna Lunsford
ICQ    UIN   5266832
Junia1  (ICQ or AOL Instant Messenger)
http://www.cblink.com/userpages/~lunsford




>The Chair
>
>A man's daughter had asked the local priest to come and pray with her
>father. When the  priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his
>head propped up on two pillows and an  empty chair beside his bed. The
>priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his  visit.
>
>
>"I guess you were expecting me," he said.   "No, who are you?"  "I'm the
>new associate at your parish," the priest replied. "When I saw the empty
>chair, I  figured you knew I was going to show up."  "Oh yeah, the chair,"
>said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"  Puzzled, the
>priest shut the door,  "I've never told anyone this, not even my
>daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have  never known how to
>pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,
> but it always went right over my head.."   "I abandoned any attempt at
>prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my
>best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a
>conversation  with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on 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'll be with you  always.'
>Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me
>right now."
>
>"So, Father, 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 priest was deeply moved by the story and
>encouraged the old guy to continue on the  journey. Then he prayed with
>him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the rectory.
>
>Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had
>died that afternoon.  "Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked.
> "Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to
>his bedside, told me one  of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the
>cheek. When I got back from the store an hour  later, I found him dead.
>But there was something strange, Father. In fact, beyond strange--kinda
>weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his
>head on a chair beside the bed."
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This Story is touching and sad to me.though I guess it was meant to be
uplifting.....So many dying with false hope , not having known the truth....
God helps us to spread the gospel.
In Jesus Name , Amen.