Keep Your Fork

Sometimes the answers to our prayers come in ways much different than the ones we had hoped for, even expected...but they always come. February was a whirlwind month of emotions. Tio Chuy passed away abruptly on the 9th. I was shocked when my mother broke the news...I was so sure that Heavenly Father was going to have him be a vessel that would prove to all of us who love my uncle that miracles do happen. I couldn't come to terms that my surety had perhaps just been subjectively imposed. Looking back I can now see that the serenity and faith that everything would turn out alright that I felt, was real. It wasn't a fabrication of any kind. We all had been praying and fasting that he would be healed...and he was. He is now in a place where he is no longer suffering but happily and fully engaged in the Lord's work on that side of the veil. What a blessing it is to know that God lives, that His son made it possible for us to rise from the dead and be with our loved ones once again in his presence. What a wonderful thing it is to have the true gospel along with temples and the keys of the priesthood to make sealings for the eternities possible. What a joyous thing it is to know that Tio was greeted back home by his mother, his father, his ancestors and that he continues to live and share that beautiful smile with those around him...the same one he will greet his wife, kids, and loved ones with when we return to our premortal home.

Sometimes we don't get the answers that we expect, in the way we had hoped...but we always receive the answers that Heavenly Father knows are best. It truly is a beautiful thing to have hope in times of despair and sadness and to know that the best is yet to come.

Keep Your 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 goodbye. 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 as 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 the best is yet to come…