Advice from a Bed and Breakfast

I (Paul) hear a lot of good stories as the innkeeper at Whitestone Country Inn. This is one I will always remember.

An elderly woman was informed by her doctor that she had stage 4 cancer and only had a few months to live. Her husband was dead and her only child, a son, had been killed in a car accident. Not wanting to leave her funeral arrangements to others, she asked her pastor to come by for a visit.

They discussed the songs she wanted sung at the funeral. She gave him her favorite scriptures she wanted read at the gravesite. A list of pall-bearers had been prepared. As they were finishing the details, she handed the young pastor a silver plated fork.

“It’s very important to me that this fork is placed in my right hand in the casket.”

The pastor took the fork with a quizzical look on his face.

“Is there something here I need to know?”

“When I was growing up, our family didn’t have  a lot. Meals were adequate, but usually pretty basic. But once in a while as we helped clear the table and take our dirty dishes to the sink, mother would say, ‘Keep your fork.’ That always meant that dinner was not really over and the best was yet to come. So I want to be buried with a fork in my hand because it’s not over. I believe the best is yet to come.”

This is probably an old story but I heard it for the first time this week? Please share this link because someone out there needs to hear, “Keep your fork,” because the best is yet to come!

– Paul Cowell, Innkeeper at Whitestone Country Inn