articlesforchristians

Keep Your Fork… (Author Unknown) There was an older lady who was getting her affairs in order. According to her doctors she did not have long to live.  She called the pastor over. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, which scriptures she would like read, and which outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order, and the pastor was preparing to leave when the lady 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 lady continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.” The pastor stood looking at the lady, not knowing quite what to say.

“That surprises you, doesn’t it?” the lady asked.

“Well, to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request,” said the pastor. She answered by saying, “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, she said, “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 lady goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the lady had a better grasp of heaven than he did.

At the funeral, people were walking by the lady’s casket, and they saw the cloak she was wearing 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 lady shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He 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, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.