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 the 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.