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 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 that?” the Pastor replied.
“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 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 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 absolutely wonderful!
“So I just wanted 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?’
“I want you to tell them my story of keeping the fork. And then I want you to share the gospel.”
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 tremendous grasp of heaven. She knew that something better was coming.
At the funeral, people were walking by the young woman’s casket and saw the fork placed in her right hand.
Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, “What’s with the Fork?”
Over and over, he smiled. And shared her story and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am so inspired by the messages I get from dis blog. Wow,the “FORK” a symbol of hope for desert…..death as absence of the body,and an opening of hope to d Heavenly place of our God. May dis message sink into all hearts and instill assurance.
Thank You. Even in death, you can “tell” of the goodness of God !
Thank you for sharing that story with us, how true it is as a child of God, there is always a better place when we leave this earth and that place is called HEAVEN! Thank you Jesus for making it possible that HEAVEN is our home when we leave this earth! God bless!
Amen. Something beautiful, something good is in store for those who trust in the Lord when our end draw near. Praise the Lord!
Great way to impact viewers with the message of hope.
How beautiful this is. My mom died almost 3 years ago. She had just accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. Answer to prayer. My mom always said “Save your fork if you want desert.” This remind me of her and I am blessed with her anniversary “memories” coming up. Thank you. Grama
I needed that reassurance…thanks
Awesome devotion . To be absent from the body is to be present with The Lord. What a day that will be to see Jesus face to face and our loved ones who have
Gone before us. This is a powerful devotion of faith and a vision of a day to come. To God be the glory!
It’s quite an interesting story to listen to.This gives us an understanding that there is better thing in the Gospel to tell.And this should be our desire at all times.
From Olufemi Babatola, Lagos Nigeria
Can this story get any more encouraging?I am going through a difficult and challenging time but each time I remind myself of these words’better days ahead’,the load becomes lighter.Thank you for reassuring me that something is better yet to come.God bless you all.
thank you for the message that is so true that there are always some thing better for us we just got to be patient and know god got something better plan for us we just need to have faith and belive he will supply all of our needs.thank god for the young lady to share that about the fork we all should be example of faith.
I’m looking into the idea of having a few t-shirts made with “KEEP YOUR FORK” and a large picture of a fork imprinted on them. When people laugh and ask what does that mean, my family could share the gospel.