MOM KEPT HER FORK

Toward the end of my mom’s life on earth I had sent her a letter with a story in it about “keeping the fork”. My mom cherished the story and held onto that letter. She told several people about the letter and this story. As time went by she became more and more troubled will health issues requiring hospitalization and finally she had to be placed in a nursing home to provide the care she required. She had been in the nursing home for a couple of months. My wife and I were living down in the Atlanta, Georgia area. One early evening our telephone rang. It was my sister informing me that our mom had just had a series of mini-strokes and was not expected to live all that much longer. She said if I wanted to see mom before she died I needed to get there ASAP. We had no money to afford to fly so we planned on driving. We were going to go to bed early that evening and get a few hours sleep before getting up early and embarking on the 10-11 hour drive. Before we even got to bed the phone rang again. My sister told me that mom had died. It ripped my heart out that we were not able to be with her before she passed away. The good news is just a few weeks before she died she got saved their in the Christian nursing home she was in. She had watched the Jesus film and the minister who came there had led her to the Lord. We went back home to attend the funeral and burial. Several in the family knew about the story of keeping the fork as my mom had told many about it. As various family members were viewing my mom’s body lying in the casket someone said “Hey, where is her fork? She should have a fork in her hand”. We agreed. Even my dad who had been a hard hearted person totally turned off to anything about of a “religious” nature agreed to this. I went out to talk to the funeral home people about getting a fork and placing it in her hand. They had encountered this request a couple of times before as I had asked them about it. So we got them a fork and they placed it in her left hand and a rose in her right hand.

I had taped a paper on her closed casket that read: MOM KEPT HER FORK!   I did this to spark peoples’ curiousity as I had also prepared a message I wrote to give to them explaining this sign.

Here is the message I wrote to give out to those who attended the funeral and/or burial service:

Yes, mom kept her fork. What about you? What have you done with Jesus? There is no more important question to be asked and responded to. Someday your heart will be asking … “What will Jesus do with me?”  That is aleady settled as should you die today “in your sins” you will spend eternity separated from God in hellfire. God has done all He can and all He needs to keep you from such a fate, but the choice is yours. Once you draw your last breath there is no more oportunity. Your fate will be sealed. God loves you, but He hates your sin. Call upon the Name of Jesus while He may be found. The best is yet to come for those who are IN CHRIST.

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