K e e p Y o u r F o r k
There was a woman who had been diagnosed
with a 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 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 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 good-bye. 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 than 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...