Mildred was diagnosed with a terminal lymphatic cancer 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 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 woman had a better grasp of heaven than even he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and each one saw the pretty dress she was wearing, 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.
- Author Unknown
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IN ONE OF GOD’S OTHER WAYS© THIS STORY IS A REMINDER…
THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
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But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NASB
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 NLT
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If you have a story or testimony that you think might bless others,
I invite you to send it by email to me (Kenneth Kersey) at godsotherways@me.com.
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