KEEP YOUR FORK!
A Midweek Spiritual Workout with
Fr. Marino H.
Msigala, OFM Capuchin
KEEP YOUR FORK!
A young woman who had been diagnosed
with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live decided to get
her things in order. She contacted her pastor and reviewed her final wishes
with him. After discussing the details of her funeral plans, the pastor was
ready to leave when the woman said, "There's one more thing. I must be
buried with a fork in my right hand.”
The pastor was puzzled, but the 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. She said, “After most dinner celebrations, the waiter
often says, ‘Keep your fork.’ That was
my favorite part because I knew something better was coming, like velvety
chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful was about to
happen!”
So, I want people to see me 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 young woman
goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before
her death. But he also knew she had a better grasp of heaven than he did, more
than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge.
She knew that something better was coming.
At the funeral, as people passed the
young woman's casket, they asked the pastor, “What’s with the fork?” And over
and over, he smiled and told them of their conversation and what the fork
symbolized to her. He explained that he could not stop thinking about the fork
and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it
either. So, the next time you reach down
for your fork, let it remind you ever so gently that the best is yet to come.
Keep your fork!
~ Edited from a story by Rachel Marie Crane-Williams
On this Spiritual Workout Wednesday, when things
aren’t going well, you’re upset about something, or feeling down, remember that
it will pass and that the best is yet to come. Keep your fork!
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