The story has been widely shared on the Internet. It appeared in “A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul” and was authored by Roger William Thomas.

It concerns a young woman who had been given only a short time to live, and who instructed her pastor that she would like to be buried with a fork in her right hand. She went on to say, “In all my years of attending church potluck dinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared from the table, someone would say, ‘Keep your fork.’”

She said that the clearing of the main course was her favorite part of the meal because she knew “something better was coming, something wonderful, sweet and with substance.” What she wanted was to convey to her loved ones at her funeral was her belief that, after her time here on earth was over, and they were clearing her earthly table, something better, much sweeter, was yet to come.

Keep your fork!