Keep Your Fork
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a
terminal illness and had been give three months to
live. So as she was getting
her things 'in order', she contacted her pastor and
had him come
to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final
wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the
service, what
scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she
wanted to be
buried in. The woman also requested to be buried
with her
favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the
pastor was
preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered
something
very important to her. 'there's one more thing,' she
said
excitedly. 'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply.
'This is
very important,' the woman continued. 'I want to be
buried with
a fork in my right hand.' The pastor stood looking
at the
woman, not knowing quite what to say. 'That surprises
you,
doesn't it?' the woman asked. 'Well, to be honest,
I'm puzzled
by the request,' said the pastor. The woman explained.
'In all
my years of attending church socials and potluck dinner
s, I
always remember that when the dishes of the main course
were
being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and
say, 'Keep
your fork'. It was my favorite part because I knew
that
something better was coming....like velvety chocolate
cake or
deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with
substance!
So, I just want people to see me there in that casket
with a
fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's
with the
fork?'. Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your
fork...the
best is yet to come'. The pastor's eyes welled up
with tears of
joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He knew this
would be one
of the last times he would see her before her death.
But he
also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven
that he
did. She KNEW that something better was coming. At
the funeral
people were walking by the woman's casket and they
saw the
pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible
and the fork
placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor
heard the
question, 'What's with the fork?' And over and over
he smiled.
During his message, the pastor told the people of the
conversation he had with the woman shortly before she
died. He
also told them about the fork and about what it
symbolized to
her. The pastor told the people how he could not
stop thinking
about the fork and told them that they probably would
not be
able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.
So the
next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind
you oh so
gently, that the best is yet to come...