Janny Rae :o)
Growing up in the Methodist Church, we had lots of pot-luck dinners, mother & daughter banquets, picnics, and so much more. I can't remember how many times we were told to save our forks for desert. This story reminds me so much of those dinners...and it also reminds me that Heaven is a much better
place than where we are now.
The Best Is Yet To Come
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness
and was given three months to live. As she began getting her things
in order she called her pastor and asked for him to 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 wanted read,
and what dress she wanted to be buried in. She also requested to be
buried with her favorite Bible in her left hand. Everything was in
order and as the pastor was preparing to leave, the woman suddenly
remembered one final request that was very important to her. "Please
Pastor, just one thing," she said excitedly. "Sure, What is it?," came
the pastors reply. "This is very important to me," the woman continued
..."I want to be buried holding a fork in my right hand." The pastor
gazed at the woman with a loss for words. "That surprises you,
doesn't it?" the woman asked. The pastor replied, "Well to
be quite honest, I'm puzzled by the request."
The woman explained. "You see, Pastor, in all my years of attending
church socials and potluck dinners,
I remember that when the dishes were being cleared
after the main course, someone would invariably lean
over to me 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
to end the great meal." The pastor listened
intently and a smile came upon his face. The
woman continued, "So I want people to see me there
in the 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 pastors eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman
goodbye. He knew that 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 and trusted that the
best was yet to come. At the funeral, everyone that walked by the
woman's casket saw her wearing a beautiful dress with her favorite
Bible held in her left hand and a fork in her right
hand. Over and over the pastor heard people ask
the question, "Why is she holding a fork?" and his
smile began to get larger and brighter each time. During his message,
the pastor told the people about the conversation that he had with the woman shortly before she
died. He explained the fork and what it symbolized to her. The
pastor told everyone how he could not stop thinking about the fork and
how he hoped that they would not be able to stop thinking about it
either. That fork and the meaning of it to the woman had quite the
impact on everyone and they are still sharing the story with people
they meet. And now it has been shared with you...so the next time
you reach for your fork, let it remind you, oh so gently, that the
best is yet to come. May God bless you and your family and keep
everyone of you safe.