There was a woman who had been diagnosed(診斷)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(牧師) 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(經(jīng)文) she would like read，and what outfit1 she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible.

Everything wasin order andthe 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(教友聯(lián)誼會）; and potluck(家常便飯) dinners，I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared，someone would in- evitably (必然地) lean over and say， ' Keep your fork'. It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming..， like velvety (醇和的) chocolate cake or apple pie. Something wonderful， and with substance2! So， I just want people to see me there in that casket(棺材) 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 (涌上，升起) up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knewthiswould be one of the last timeshewould see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp (理解，領(lǐng)會) of heaven than he did. She knew that something better was 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 over3，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 symbolized4 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.

有一位女士檢查出來身患絕癥，只剩下三個月的時間了。于是，為把自己的后事處理好，她邀請了她的牧師來她家商量如何完成她最后的愿望。她告訴牧師，在葬禮儀式上要唱哪些歌，讀哪些基督教經(jīng)文，在她被埋葬的時候她想穿什么樣的衣服，而且還要和她最喜愛的《圣經(jīng)》葬在一起。

一切都安排得井井有條，當(dāng)牧師準(zhǔn)備告辭的時候，那位女士突然想起一件對她至關(guān)重要的事情。“還有一件事?！彼d奮地說。

“什么事?”牧師問道?！斑@件事非常重要，”這位女士繼續(xù)說道，“在入葬的時候，我想右手里能有一把叉子?！蹦翈熣驹谀莾憾⒅@位女士，不知該說些什么。

“讓您吃驚了，是嗎?”這位女士問道?！罢f實話，我的確對這個要求很不理解?！蹦翈熣f。

這位女士解釋道：“我一生中每次參加教友聚會或家宴的時候，我都記得當(dāng)盛主菜的盤子被收下去以后，總是會有人彎下身子說，‘拿著你們的叉子；我最喜歡這個時刻，因為我知道有更好的東西要來了……比如，香醇的巧克力蛋糕，或者蘋果派。一定會有精彩紛呈的東西出現(xiàn)!所以，我只想讓人們都看到，我在棺材里的時候手上拿著一把叉子，我希望他們會問：‘為什么要拿叉子?’這時候，我想讓你告訴他們：‘拿著你的叉子……最好的馬上就要來了?！?/p>

牧師在和這位女士道別的時候，擁抱著她，眼里涌出了幸福的淚水。他知道在她死前和她見不上幾面了，但是他也知道這個女人比他更理解天堂是什么，她確信有更好的東西會來。

在葬禮上，人們走過這個女人的棺材，看見她穿著漂亮的衣服，和她至愛的《圣經(jīng)》在一起，右手拿著一把餐叉。一遍又一遍，牧師聽到有人問：“為什么要拿叉子呢?”而牧師一遍又一遍地微笑著。

在他致辭的時候，牧師告訴了人們這個女人臨終前和他的那次談話，他也告訴了他們叉子對于她代表了什么。牧師告訴人們，他總是情不自禁地想到那把叉子，而他們可能也會如此。他是對的。所以，下一次當(dāng)你伸手去拿叉子的時候，就讓這件事悄悄地提醒你，最好的東西就要來了。

注釋：

1．outfit n．（尤指在特殊場合穿的） 全套服裝

2．substance n．實質(zhì)性（或?qū)嵲冢┑臇|西

3．over and over一再地，再三地

4．symbolizevt．象征，標(biāo)志