KEEP YOUR FORK!

Week after week, I have the privilege of visiting our parishes, celebrating Badarak with our beloved communities. After Badarak, we gather together for fellowship where we share a meal. When the dishes from the main course are being cleared away, someone will inevitably lean over and say, “Srpazan, keep your fork.”

Now, whenever I hear those words, I know something good is coming. That means the best part of the meal isn’t over. That means dessert is on its way—maybe a rich, velvety chocolate cake, or a warm kadaif or kunefeh, fresh out of the oven. Keep your fork is a sign that something even sweeter is ahead!

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” That means what’s coming is better than anything you’ve tasted before. The blessings you’ve seen so far, the breakthroughs you’ve had, the victories you’ve won—they were just the main course. But God is saying, I have something even greater in store!

Maybe life has served you some difficult courses lately. Maybe you’ve gone through challenges, disappointments, struggles you didn’t see coming. You’ve done your best, you’ve stayed faithful, but now it feels like things are being cleared away, like opportunities are fading, like doors are closing. You might be tempted to think, “Is this it? Is this all there is?”

But God is whispering in your heart today, “Keep your fork.” When one chapter closes, that doesn’t mean the story is over. When a door shuts, that doesn’t mean God has run out of ways to bless you. The same God who brought you through the last season has already prepared something even greater in the next!

You may not see it yet. You may not feel it yet. But just like at the banquet table, when you hear “keep your fork,” you don’t have to question what’s next. You don’t have to see the dessert cart rolling in to know it’s coming. You just hold onto that fork with expectation.

In the same way, hold onto your faith. Hold onto your hope. Keep your fork, because what God has planned is sweeter, greater, and more fulfilling than anything you’ve ever known!

Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan
February 15, 2025