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
main course dishes were being cleared, someone would lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.'
It was my favorite part because I knew 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 joys as he hugged the woman good-bye.
He knew this would be one of the last
times that 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 again, the pastor heard
the question "What's with the fork?"
And over and over again he smiled.
During his message, the pastor told
the people of the conversation he had talked 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.
