By: Bill Bryant, Wooddale Church of Christ

(The Bible continually emphasizes the importance of hope. It is so important that it is combined by the apostle Paul with faith and love as key concepts [I Corinthians 13:13]. The Hebrew writer tells us that hope is a key component of faith [Hebrews 11:1; Romans 15:4]. The hope of a heavenly city was one of the best motivations to keep those listed in “Faith’s Hall of Fame” faithful [Hebrews 11:13-16]. Therefore, the following story is submitted to help your “hope factor.” It has always been one of my favorite stories because it beautifully and powerfully illustrates that “the best is yet to come…” Co-editor: Bill Bryant)

The sound of Martie’s voice on the other end of the telephone always brought a smile to Bro. Jim’s face. She was not only one of the oldest members of the congregation, but also one of the most faithful. Aunt Martie, as all of the children called her, just seemed to ooze faith, hope, and love wherever she went.

This time, however, there seemed to be an unusual tone to her words.

“Preacher, could you stop by this afternoon? I need to talk with you.”

“Of course, I’ll be there around three. Is that okay?”

It didn’t take long for Jim to discover the reason for what he had only sensed in her voice before. As they sat facing each other in the quiet of her small living room, Martie shared the news that her doctor had just discovered a tumor. Her doctor had then told her that she had about six months to live. Martie’s words were naturally serious, yet there was a definite calm about her.

“I’m sorry to…”

But before Jim could finish, Martie interrupted, “Don’t be. The Lord has been good to me. I have lived a long life. I’m ready to go. You know that.”

“I know,” whispered Jim with a reassuring nod.

Then Martie said, “But I do want to talk to you about my funeral. I have been thinking about it, and there are things that I know I want.”

The two talked quietly for a long time. They talked about Martie’s favorite hymns, the passages of Scripture that had meant so much to her through the years, and the many memories they shared from the five years that Jim had preached for that congregation.

When it seemed that they had covered just about everything, Aunt Martie paused, looked up at Jim with a twinkle in her eye, and then added, “One more thing preacher.” She went on to say, “When they bury me, I want my old Bible in one hand and a fork in the other.”

“A fork?” Jim asked. He was sure that he had everything, but this caught him by surprise. “Why do you want to be buried with a fork?”

She then said, “I have been thinking about all of the church dinners and banquets that I attended through the years…I couldn’t count them all…But one thing sticks out in my mind,” she said. “At those really nice get-togethers, when the meal was almost finished, a server or maybe the hostess would come by to collect the dirty dishes. Sometimes, at the best one, somebody would lean over my shoulder and whisper, ‘YOU CAN KEEP THE FORK.’ And do you know what that meant? It meant that dessert was coming! It didn’t mean a cup of Jell-O pudding or even a dish of ice cream. You don’t need a fork for that. It meant the good stuff, like chocolate cake or cherry pie. When they told me I could keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come. And preacher,” she then said, “That’s exactly what I want people to talk about at my funeral. Oh, they can talk about all the good times we had together. That would be nice. But when they walk by my casket and look at my pretty blue dress, I want them to turn to one another and say, ‘WHY THE FORK?’ And preacher, I want you to answer that question for them. I want you to tell them that I kept my fork because the best is yet to come.”