The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
8 _* y3 |2 u" Z/ c


The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
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
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
6 ~9 D  g& \& S+ Spainting, etc, and on December 18
# F& k* X; E+ R5 D& {  y* Wwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
" N3 x$ ~" u: hO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
" u$ A# m4 F% m O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
! l4 n" ^: {& QHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
. r- D1 N7 W6 S9 I6 F- z  ?20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
3 s+ _$ I! G& M$ ]4 JT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
8 Y; [9 [2 J5 z! Pand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
2 P6 h& v* [0 _" eOn the way he noticed that a local business was
% {0 F$ K$ t2 O9 A! Ghaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
+ q. _7 r% M1 V# _7 Uembroidered right in the center. It was just  
4 \! p3 k+ _# j$ ^5 R' X; ]

) S& v) s" y6 J- f* }
- A! i* w0 t, \2 ~9 u$ F  J
3 N' v- E  z% _9 Z4 {
: \( R# b" P5 a* A. X
6 Z/ z; j! H3 o- e- A/ Tthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
6 e- j2 F* P. g' R# B5 f8 C3 XB y this time it had started to snow. An older
" I# d6 r) t' n, S( \) Y0 b( X& Iwoman running from the opposite direction was
( i' P( s9 H+ I. atrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
! N" @% w1 z" vinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
2 n' ^3 H: ^, q! X# i- V
7 ?2 q1 u0 _  X7 J2 JShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
% T; m; b: ?: u) L3 b8 m% Twhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
( Q+ [/ b: W' S: p% \4 Rup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
2 N; Z8 z$ f6 k* X0 A, K& X$ X5 y7 ]0 {3 LT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
# d" I0 e  x5 h* O, {5 N$ maisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she 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
# A) t  v3 i6 N7 R' Tit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
/ C- P" s  |% W7 g+ p! C8 c. nmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
" h* J% ~- q" @# w" atold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
1 x# r  D. C! o. C+ C# \
! F; a; x4 I- x& R  r; hWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
1 }& `: S; Q) h) ^Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
  V2 b, \7 ]  z( x$ O. T/ h( zHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
4 F* l6 ^  ^" a) R" hT 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
6 a! v# J* `3 A$ u7 Gwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
/ ~2 t1 v0 Q) }! kside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
" R2 k; O* U+ a4 i3 C, {/ k3 Cfor the day for a housecleaning job.
4 V" q) @, y3 Y3 K( m- jW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
, Q7 P* M+ B+ x& q# Wspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
3 m% F. _# m2 P( B! land many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
+ S$ _  @4 X$ u/ p: r4 ^% ^/ [from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
9 u7 O9 ~4 d" A& W" r6 }2 o, j7 a6 {pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
5 r3 M: h5 M! t+ ^& R+ }: Ywasn't leaving.
+ \7 w+ h% N$ s8 x/ a' {# B6 O: O& iThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
# Q, Z; e! x& l' Zthe front wall because it was identical to one
9 k4 T, I" A1 g) |& L" K4 m; Y) x$ Nthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
9 [' k: X" c! }H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
7 M7 }. C) K+ F  U$ M- q  }forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
* ^  \3 a2 p9 ~8 F& j% j0 ~put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
; `9 g0 e8 {6 ]4 L2 I$ P, z( \0 Pagain all the 35 years between.
4 Y5 r: l. f9 {) d; M. G9 F" J" }T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
5 l2 L" i! x/ _take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
- L" D% S1 u2 @* A1 xhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
7 \* S6 ]5 z; L. o, ^stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
( R3 n, d( c7 ~I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
) Z9 d! r) I8 _0 L& p# a1 A& q7 f/ nalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
; |. M& T+ A( r2 Gcares we know He will see us through.
2 h8 g9 P* d' {( T8 e( h0 ]S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
0 g2 U  v/ X$ c- B6 K  ipraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
- }0 j: a5 k6 o) r1 m& m% Cto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
4 _: `! x# E5 H( tyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
, @8 ^( o3 J% M2 i! ^# C# {+ J- Hyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
' A0 I* r* D' [9 q1 n$ aseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
- N# C0 g: a+ V2 f% Y" `6 f) Jwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
( o# z, h7 j: \5 g0 |- yday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!