The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
: u7 y& u7 u# A4 r% `


The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
$ M% s% ^# Z2 M7 g7 P0 I6 @excited about their opportunities. When they saw
6 Q8 f7 v% U4 `; Otheir church, it was very run down and needed
0 v* L: C' ]5 x! J) pmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
! b8 \/ u7 Y8 ~7 Q" s5 @3 Z' Hdone in time to have their first service
  K7 F$ b7 Y  p. t- s! t8 M; gon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
( @% b6 w8 y/ Twere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
- R; Q7 m7 Q7 q6 V  urainstorm 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
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
3 ?. G5 _% Q5 {0 v% cof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
( U5 @/ q- u  }; f* n9 F2 dbeginning about head high.
; F1 k6 O3 b1 m3 l3 @; LT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
# {7 n$ _/ I4 ~2 qand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
4 F4 ~1 M3 [1 O- c& A+ Ostopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  



( K4 d  n" Z! w4 H; _
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the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
6 t- M" m; j; R/ K4 q2 A: YB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
+ }- }. R% Z' n& n. e' Ptrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
! d4 g+ y; _4 E* A
She 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
4 ]& l+ _: a1 C3 tcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
6 T& |2 ?3 J+ Z3 U1 c) x, ^T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
' A; [! L4 M9 Q/ V" yshe 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
8 s+ ?4 t8 C& H- b" c% R6 `# Bit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
6 v% I$ w/ d- J8 Fmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
& y' g- n( x' n' {3 C, ST he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
4 I* S% z) @7 }8 r0 Gtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
4 N+ Y* ^7 `2 t. M# s+ Cher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
+ `  S; ^* o8 H  }0 {9 CHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
, k" h. k" ~: d6 Zbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
8 @+ a, \: @$ [0 ~( Lwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for 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
6 s: D, r/ ?$ W  m" T- H8 }pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
" w2 a2 Q! \$ h% fand many said that they would return..
3 F( P/ K" r8 Q2 Q" k1 I( KOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
; B) [, L4 _/ Wfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
0 L" S6 @( v7 b% p3 P" uThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
) P" K6 B: |) k# W2 d# p) v! u5 ethe front wall because it was identical to one
- s' Y6 C  Z# N) _6 h" Ythat his wife had made years ago when
8 i. c% l$ }) F$ a6 U: l* u0 wthey lived in Austria before the war and how
; N2 ]+ q! g, \! e$ k" Y3 P0 _: l% Acould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
9 c8 ?7 m9 R# `H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
. I( C( G6 v  {: aput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
/ w( s) I! p& v) p. `9 Hagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
2 G5 }0 j8 `9 P% [+ I# Utake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
8 P% |/ h9 C8 ~6 |3 XIsland and to the same house where the pastor
0 x. Q, `( N% \* f0 t7 ghad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
" r$ q# X; H+ ~* g2 ~/ ^stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
( ^2 X6 V8 M, \/ \6 z% Gthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
, G8 j* b, T. O% A' {, q; HT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
) X8 M( o. m* k  L6 l+ R! Xwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
3 p$ R  V+ _9 K0 iI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
+ [3 ^: U, c; v6 C( ~  Z; ?- Jalong 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
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
, {. n1 S" Z# j$ z) Ypraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
6 q, I( n) L, f- D. d3 }3 `to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
! ~+ ~9 ?: P, o7 Oyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 m1 |4 V5 T2 _6 _! Eseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
4 A+ f0 v5 f& k4 X0 lsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
2 r; I/ Y+ W0 K6 never it is that You know they may be needing this
0 ]- E! z# u" ^; \& ^day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
! m2 a2 s( }0 lprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!