A minister, passing through his church in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar and see who’d come to pray.
Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle;
The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn’t shaved in quite a while.
His shirt was kind of shabby and his coat was worn and frayed.
The man knelt, bowed his head, then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed, each noon he came inside
And knelt for just a minute, a lunchpail at his side.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear.
He decided to stop the man and ask him, “Watcha doin’ here?”
It seems the man worked down the road, and lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayertime, for finding strength and power.
“I stay only moments, see, ’cause the factory’s far away.
As I kneel here talkin’ to the Lord, this is what I say:
I just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I have been
Since we found each other’s friendship and You took away my sin.
I don't really know too much about just how to pray,
But I want You to know that I am thinking of You every day.
So, Jesus, this is Jim, checkin’ in.”
The minister, feeling foolish, told Jim that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome to pray there anytime.
Time to go, Jim smiled, said thanks, and hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar, a thing he’d seldom done before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart he repeated old Jim’s prayer:
“I just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I have been
Since we found each other's friendship and You took away my sin.
I don't really know too much about just how to pray,
But I want you to know that I am thinking of You every day.
So, Jesus, this is me, checkin’ in.”
Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn’t come.
As more days passed without Jim, 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 Jim was with them brought changes to the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious; changed people, his reward.
The head nurse couldn’t understand why old Jim was so glad
When no flowers, calls, or postcards came, and no visitors he had.
The minister stayed by his bed, he voiced the nurse’s concern:
“No friends have come to show they care. You have nowhere to turn.”
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up, and with a winsome smile:
“The nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know that during this long while
Every day at noon He’s here, a dear Friend of mine, you see.
He sits right down, He takes my hand, leans over and says to me:
I just came again to tell you, Jim, how happy I have been
Since we found each other’s friendship and I took away your sin.
This time of day is special, I love to hear you pray,
And I’m thinking, watching, caring, and blessing you each day.
And so, Jim, this is Jesus, checkin’ in.”
