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The Fork There was a 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. 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 he did. She KNEW that something better was coming. At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing, another 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. 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. 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! |
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Categories: Advice Devotions [1] Anger Devotions [2] Animal Devotions [5] Art Devotions [1] Attitude Devotions [3] Beauty Devotions [16] Bible Devotions [7] Blessing Devotions [7] Challenge Devotions [6] Change Devotions [1] Character Devotions [5] Chicken Devotions [2] Children Devotions [39] Christian Devotions [2] Christmas Devotions [5] Church Devotions [3] College Devotions [2] Companionship Devotions [1] Complaint Devotions [1] Courage Devotions [4] Criminal Devotions [3] Dance Devotions [1] Death Devotions [9] Deep Thoughts Devotions [2] Desire Devotions [1] Destiny Devotions [2] Dog Devotions [2] Doubt Devotions [1] Dream Devotions [3] Driving Devotions [6] Egg Devotions [1] Excellence Devotions [7] Excuses Devotions [1] Faith Devotions [22] Father Devotions [7] Fishing Devotions [2] Food Devotions [3] Forgiving Devotions [9] Freedom Devotions [1] Friendship Devotions [9] Funny Quizzes Devotions [2] Giving Devotions [17] Glamour Devotions [1] God Devotions [32] God's Promises Devotions [1] Golf Devotions [1] Goodness Devotions [3] Grace Devotions [5] Growth Devotions [1] Guardian Angel Devotions [3] Habit Devotions [1] Happiness Devotions [4] Hero Devotions [1] Honesty Devotions [2] Hope Devotions [4] Humor Devotions [1] Hunger Devotions [1] Ice Cream Devotions [1] Impossible Devotions [2] Integrity Devotions [2] Joy Devotions [7] Kindness Devotions [19] Knowledge Devotions [5] Leadership Devotions [3] Lists Devotions [1] Lonliness Devotions [2] Love Devotions [45] Loyalty Devotions [1] Medical Devotions [3] Memory Devotions [1] Men Devotions [2] Miracle Devotions [6] Money Devotions [9] Mother Devotions [6] Music Devotions [2] Nature Devotions [5] Obstacle Devotions [2] Old Age Devotions [1] Old People Devotions [5] Optimism Devotions [1] Outdoor Devotions [1] Parent Devotions [1] Patriotic Devotions [1] Peace Devotions [2] Perfection Devotions [2] Persistence Devotions [10] Police Devotions [1] Political Devotions [1] Prayer Devotions [24] Recognition Devotions [1] Redemption Devotions [1] Regeneration Devotions [3] Salvation Devotions [13] Santa Devotions [1] School Devotions [2] Self Esteem Devotions [1] Service Devotions [1] Sports Devotions [3] Spring Devotions [1] Strength Devotions [1] Success Devotions [4] Teacher Devotions [2] Thankfulness Devotions [10] Thanksgiving Devotions [1] Time Devotions [24] Travel Devotions [1] Trouble Devotions [5] Trust Devotions [8] Unfairness Devotions [1] Unity Devotions [2] Weakness Devotions [1] Wisdom Devotions [14] Women Devotions [3] Work Devotions [7] Worry Devotions [1] |
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