Hi Rebecca,

I pray and hope your and your father joruney here on Authors.com is a wonderful one.

The people on this site so far are all friendly and considerate of each other poems

and works.  Thanks for communicating with me and Peace and Be Blessed.

Love, Shirley Long

Thank you so much. I would like to share something my father wrote before his TIA (known as a 'Mini-stroke').

There are certain jobs that “have to be done” and when we ask why this had to happen to these brave people: “Well, somebody had to do it,” they’ll say, as if this was an excuse for their deaths.

Recently, there was a disastrous forest fire in the USA where 19 firefighters lost their lives.

I wrote the following in memory of them.

Prayers.

By

T. J. Edison.

“See you later, Honey”, he would always say.

Then he would kiss me and each of our three kids and drive off to work.

He told me this was a big one and it might be some time before he came home.

He’d said this before, but this one really was ‘the big one’.

And I prayed to God to take care of him and his buddies.

I prayed every time he went out, and he always came back.

The kids asked me where he was, as he didn’t come home in the evening.

I told them he was doing his job, protecting our people from the fire.

He told me not to be afraid for him; he may as well have told me not to breathe.

This time, he gave us all a hug, so tight that it took my breath away.

The phone call came, and my world caught fire, damaged by the loss.

I recalled how much, how hard and for how long I’d prayed.

I guess everybody in Arizona was praying to the Lord for protection.

For themselves, their home, their property.

For their husband.

For the father of their children.

For their son.

Their brother.

For their daddy.

Their uncle,

Their nephew,

Their cousin

So many people, all praying at once.

Maybe it was too much for Him.

God bless you.

Ellen.

Hello Rebecca,

Are you a relation of T. J. Edison?

Neil