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Keep Your Fork

There was a young 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.

Everything was in order and the pastor 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?" came the pastor's reply.

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

The pastor 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," said the pastor.

The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story, and from there on out, I have always done so. I have also, 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 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 young woman good-bye. 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 had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress 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 young 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 ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care. Remember to always be there for them, even when you need them more. For you never know when it may be their time to "Keep your fork." Cherish the time you have, and the memories you share ... being friends with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility.

Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND even if it means sending back to the person who sent it to you.

And keep your fork.

~Author Unknown~
Submitted by Dick

 

Click here for a complete Simone de Beauvoir bibliography
 
7 Wonders
of the World
A Favor
A Fountain of Good
A Psalm of Life
Abraham Lincoln
Accountability
Addison
Advancement in Life
Albert Einstein
Allan Bloom
Anna Quindlen
Apples of Gold
Benjamin Disraeli
Brian Azar
Burnett
Character
Children
Choosing to Survive
Courage
Daniel Goleman
Desiderata 
Dogs Can Teach
Dreams That Come True
Edward Young
Energy and Ill Temper
Fair Treatment  
Faith 
Forgiveness
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Gary Zukav
Glenn Clark
Glenn Clark on Trust
God's Loan
Happiness Is....
Happy Is The Man...
Henry Van Dyke
History
How Far You Go in Life
How Rich Are We?
I Wish You Enough...
I’ve Learned…
Ibn Hazm
Information Please
Just Checking In
Kahil Gibran
Keep Your Fork
Kind Words
Kindness
Kingsley on Friendship 
Knowledge
Laura Lee Randall
Leaves of Gold on Education
Leo Tolstoy
Let Yourself...
Life
Life Is.....
Living Life to the Fullest
Look to this Day
Love
Love of Truth
Mary Stewart - Collect
Norman Cousins
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Wendell Holmes
On Life and Love
Parable of Motherhood
Pascal
Personal Worth
Plato
Politics
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
President Ronald Reagan
Public Speakers Library
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reflection
Remember Me....
Right to Choice
Robert Louis Stevenson
Ron Yarnik
Rousseau
Rumor
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Santa's Helpers
Santa's Prayer on Christmas Eve
Self
Serenity Prayer
Simone de Beauvoir
Social Intercourse
Someone Special
Sonnet 116
St. Jerome
Success
Supreme Happiness
Take Time...
Tewa Indian Song 
The Answered Prayer
The Best Day of My Life
The Christmas Spirt
The Common Good
The Crow
The Father's Eyes
The Gold 
The Goose Story
The Hero
The Lord's Prayer
The Man in the Arena
The Paradox of Our Time in History
The Prayer of St. Francis
The 'Present'
The Trouble Tree 
Thomas a' Kempis
Thoreau
Thought
Thoughts From
the Shore
Tom Brokow
True Glory
True Passion
Unique Flaws
Wealth, Success and Love
What I've Learned in Life
When You 
William Ellery Channing
William Faulkner
Within the Human Heart
Words of Encouragement
Words to Live By
Wrapping Paper
Youth
Your Children

 


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