Keep Your Fork

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her Bishop 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. Everything was in order and the Bishop was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

'There's one more thing,” she said excitedly.

“What's that?” asked the Bishop.

'This is very important,” the young woman continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”

The Bishop stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.

“That surprises you, doesn't it?” the young woman asked.

“Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request.”

The young woman explained. “My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending church socials and 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. 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 to keep their fork, the best is yet to come.”

The Bishop's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young 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 young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the Bishop heard the question, “What's with the fork?” And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the Bishop told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman 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. The next time you reach for your fork, let it remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.

(Author Unknown)

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
      and no mind has imagined
   what God has prepared
      for those who love him.”

          I Cor. 2:9 (NLT)