setup: [E-Mail Ministry] The Fork

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THE FORK

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given 3
months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die
(something we all should be doing all of the time.) So 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 she wanted to be wearing.

The woman also told her pastor that she wanted 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 shocks 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 functions where
food was involved and let's be honest, food is an important part of any
church event; spiritual or otherwise); my favorite part was when whoever was
clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say 'you can
keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something
better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew that something
great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It was cake
or pie. Something 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: 'Something better is coming so keep
your fork too.'" The pastor's eyes were 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 that 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 and 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. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it
remind you oh so gently that there is something better coming.

-- John Ortberg's Book "If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out
of The Boat", Chapter 8, Focusing on Jesus, page 169

P.S. Dad was buried with a fork in his hands because the best is yet to
come.

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