Keep Your Fork

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 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 than he did. She
knew that something better was coming.

At the funeral, as people were walking by the woman's casket, 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 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..."