音频下载[点击右键另存为][00:01.27]Keep Your Fork紧握餐叉
[00:03.68]There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness
[00:09.28]and was given three months to live.
[00:12.01]As she began getting her things ‘in order’,
[00:14.84]she asked for her pastor to come to her house
[00:18.16]to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
[00:21.54]She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service
[00:25.14]and what dress she wanted to be buried in.
[00:27.77]Everything was in order and as the pastor was preparing to leave,
[00:32.17]the woman suddenly remembered one final request,
[00:35.99]"Please Pastor, just one more thing," she said excitedly.
[00:40.39]"This is very important to me," the woman continued ...
[00:44.43]"I want to be buried holding a fork in my right hand."
[00:47.85]The pastor gazed at the woman, at a loss for words.
[00:51.44]"That surprises you, doesn’t it?" the woman asked.
[00:55.16]The pastor replied "Well to be quite honest, I am puzzled by the request".
[01:01.20]The woman explained, "You see, Pastor, in all my years of attending church socials,
[01:07.68]I remember that when the dishes were being cleared after the main course,
[01:11.72]someone would inevitably lean over to me and say,
[01:15.46]‘Keep your fork’ ...
[01:17.32]it was my favorite part of the meal because I knew that something better was coming.
[01:21.36]Something wonderful to end the meal!"
[01:23.98]The pastor listened intently and a smile came upon his face.
[01:29.15]The woman continued,
[01:30.89]"So, I just want people to see me there with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder ...
[01:37.15]‘What’s with the fork’... then I want you to tell them:
[01:40.98]‘Keep your Fork ... the best is yet to come’".
[01:44.93]She knew and trusted that the best was yet to come.
[01:48.75]At the funeral,
[01:50.17]every one that walked by the woman’s coffin
[01:52.24]saw her wearing a beautiful dress with her favorite Bible
[01:56.43]held in her left hand and a fork held in her right hand.
[01:59.93]Over and over the pastor heard people ask the question,
[02:03.64]"Why is she holding a fork?" and his smile began to get larger and brighter each time.
[02:09.73]During his message, the pastor explained the fork and what it symbolized to her..
[02:15.60]So the next time you reach for your fork, let it remind you, oh so gently,
[02:21.36]that the best is yet to come …