"KEEP YOUR FORK" > > There was a woman who had been diagnosed with terminal illness and had > been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things in > order, she contacted her pastor and had him come over 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?" > > "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." > > The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing 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 dinners, 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 > the last time before her death, but he also knew that the woman had a > better grasp of heaven then 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 along with here 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 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.

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