THE BEST IS STILL TO COME
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 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 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 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.
Author unknown