The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason


) ^3 `* |; ]) G
+ Q! i/ x, ?/ \' P/ ~ The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
# t3 o+ ?) b+ ^( u" X: |to their first ministry, to reopen a church
# J3 T% u" W: q5 R  Xin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
+ C( K+ H; u2 i3 [their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
( U( Q; B$ x6 uon Christmas Eve.
+ ^% f9 E2 I0 X3 }2 u' XT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
. V2 Q- S: {/ i8 N' D# Gpainting, etc, and on December 18
: v' Q5 Z! w- P% I. L) wwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
& e+ H3 i" I- t5 HO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
4 A8 b9 ], G4 D+ X1 z# K8 H6 [rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
7 x6 T" k0 O6 T0 A, \leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
; J/ X5 Y! ]4 d3 ~9 qthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
0 }: g* l2 ?* r" j" h5 {4 e6 u6 FOn the way he noticed that a local business was
+ C# G, \7 S; O: phaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
: t) z8 b& p( `  Khandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
, u4 |1 h/ E2 f; B  v1 M+ M  Ewith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
7 y7 t: {, v& X* S" l% @0 B+ N0 {embroidered right in the center. It was just  
9 @# w+ S, e* @3 M/ r


& Y/ h( t% U( e. \3 d$ _5 A# W

$ _9 @. h  S( x7 H4 w& _  z
2 K+ |- C$ A1 r  S* ^* ythe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
B y this time it had started to snow. An older
" W6 z' c2 @6 `/ C0 w  j/ {woman running from the opposite direction was
  A! A) a% M! b' M$ ]" n/ [trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
% Q3 @! C0 C# k! q5 _1 U8 @; }. ~2 Zthe next bus 45 minutes later.

# ?$ O' ^% u( n. N: HShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
/ n) e5 V) E- Y5 x6 ?5 `4 m& dcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
% A0 @/ @( h! K; c7 HT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
/ u. [( m+ T1 {2 Ishe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
& q4 u, h) w) o* fT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
0 \7 [% d6 m9 u3 W% rwoman explained that before the war she and
& B& ?/ J2 `; E; V: R6 Q" Lher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
& `! G/ R4 Z0 g, ?( u; u( bHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
, |5 T$ p! {  thusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ x+ ]: q6 o0 o: wwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
8 W% A1 p+ U5 P1 s+ s5 zfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
  F8 `7 w4 F' ^/ B' qpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
0 M: P3 K, d: h/ O4 @and many said that they would return..
' K0 L. e; D1 h; mOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
% ^0 n7 k% F7 U8 Rfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
& ~- ?; ^2 Z2 j( xpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
$ c9 ?4 Y4 V8 a4 Q; i, othe front wall because it was identical to one
8 T' l$ R2 m1 E% zthat his wife had made years ago when
% i0 A! ^) U' D* N* s) b# T# Othey lived in Austria before the war and how
: W# s/ G/ W) F0 Z9 z3 ?could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
, J; }/ I, I  e9 o" y3 hH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
$ Z" R$ u8 g3 K* R: F7 S2 h" j( uforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
3 F6 k5 ]( A0 J# P, Z' N/ {again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
+ F: N1 ~1 U- A% l/ J/ U% @! vtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
& T, g" h( B4 hIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
! i. K' e* @8 c+ D1 N/ t0 K& zstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
5 c$ T2 u6 g2 ureunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
7 S8 [1 C: K( h, i* S1 ?8 a9 B0 Gwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
0 y( Y0 B) }# Z3 Yalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
4 c4 S! V# Q4 E6 f; l# Tdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
# M+ S+ J) \4 j+ Q1 zpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
! }% l  {0 k. J/ X, R! H* h$ K/ l( g7 y0 Cto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
" L+ d  i. Q) Z# W9 u5 cyou first.
, I# q6 G( k+ s: g2 z7 @- @W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
9 v) A$ |& W& H  t- [you find out that God is all you need Take 60
9 c' x, W; o5 {: L# Cseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
+ g/ @# e8 J5 E4 |say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
0 R$ Z$ Q% D/ G: u1 WFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
" F4 i6 @8 z6 c; Q2 |' G" U7 Rever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
: s* L  m' ^4 i! N# {prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!