A Minister passing
through his church
In the middle of
the day,
Decided to pause by
the altar
To see who came to
pray.
Just then the back
door opened,
And a man came down
the aisle,
The minister
frowned as he saw the man
Hadn't shaved in a
while.
His shirt was torn
and shabby,
And his coat was
worn and frayed,
The man knelt down
and bowed his head,
Then rose and
walked away.
In the days that
followed at precisely noon,
The preacher saw
this chap,
Each time he knelt
just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his
lap.
Well, the
minister's suspicions grew,
With robbery a main
fear,
He decided to stop
and ask the man,
'What are you doing
here?'
The old man said he
was a factory worker
And lunch was half
an hour
Lunchtime was his
prayer time,
For finding
strength and power.
I stay only a
moment
Because the
factory's far away;
As I kneel here
talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what
I say:
'I Just Came By To
Tell You, Lord,
How Happy I Have
Been,
Since We Found Each
Other's Friendship
And You Took Away
My Sin.
Don't Know Much Of
How To Pray,
But I Think About
You Every day.
So, Jesus, This Is
Ben,
Just Checking In
Today.'
The minister
feeling foolish,
Told Ben that it
was fine.
He told the man
that he was welcome
To pray there
anytime.
'It's time to go,
and thanks,' Ben said
As he hurried to
the door.
Then the minister
knelt there at the altar,
Which he'd never
done before.
His cold heart
melted, warmed with love,
As he met with
Jesus there.
As the tears flowed
down his cheeks,
He repeated old
Ben's prayer:
'I Just Came By To
Tell You, Lord,
How Happy I've
Been,
Since We Found Each
Other's Friendship
And You Took Away
My Sin.
I Don't Know Much
Of How To Pray,
But I Think About
You Every day.
So, Jesus, This Is
Me,
Just Checking In
Today.'
Past noon one day,
the minister noticed
That old Ben hadn't
come.
As more days passed
and still no Ben,
He began to worry
some.
At the factory, he
asked about him,
Learning he was
ill.
The hospital staff
was worried,
But he'd given them
a thrill.
The week that Ben
was with them,
Brought changes in
the ward.
His smiles and joy
contagious.
Changed people were
his reward.
The head nurse
couldn't understand
Why Ben could be so
glad,
When no flowers,
calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he
had.
The minister stayed
by his bed,
He voiced the
nurse's concern:
No friends had come
to show they cared.
He had nowhere to
turn.
Looking surprised,
old Ben spoke up
And with a winsome
smile;
'The nurse is
wrong, she couldn't know,
He's been here all
the while.'
Every day at noon
He comes here,
A dear friend of
mine, you see,
He sits right down
and takes my hand,
Leans over and says
to me:
'I Just Came By To
Tell You, Ben,
How Happy I Have
Been,
Since We Found This
Friendship,
And I Took Away
Your Sin.
I Think About You
Always
And I Love To Hear
You Pray,
And So Ben, This Is
Jesus,
Just Checking In
Today.'
If this blesses
you, pass it on. Many people
will walk in and
out of your life, but only
true friends will
leave footprints in your
heart
May God hold you in
the palm of His hand
And Angels watch
over you..
Please pass this
page on to your friends
&loved ones. If
you aren't ashamed.
Jesus said, ' If
you are ashamed of me,'
I will be ashamed
Of you before my Father.'
If you are not
ashamed, pass this on.
So, FRIENDS &
FAMILY, this is ME ...
"Just Checking In
Today"