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 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..

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