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  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 
or deep-dish apple 
Something
wonderful and with substance!
  
So, I just want people to see me there in
that casket with a 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 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 conversion 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
let it remind you oh so
gently,
that the best is yet to come!
 
JESUS
is the light of the world!
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