The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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# q+ P$ T7 t9 g) P* C% F- x( F4 h The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
# k/ o% A+ K" v0 ?3 `5 V0 vexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
9 }5 P$ q+ U# etheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
+ s4 I- K0 [( u; p1 q5 cdone in time to have their first service
  B3 k  s1 l3 z3 v7 Con Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
4 {6 ]4 v& v* T8 Qpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
$ y# a( v! o, `8 k' Y% t5 srainstorm 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
" |# d- E; a' A7 R& q. I# \of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
6 R3 o! ]8 ]! V/ S2 `' k; _* Fbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
5 k' |# j' {3 S% t- A; i* Q0 L5 x1 jand not knowing what else to do but postpone
4 V# r, v2 x6 D2 P& y6 l1 M/ bthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
0 }) d9 n% G  i; B( o% }: l" x( SOn the way he noticed that a local business was
% V7 S6 J4 i! K5 Khaving 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
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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: W; r7 x( j4 m) Y/ @+ |the 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
woman running from the opposite direction was
) ]3 E- y- U& L; ktrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
& w2 A" P& m% O' A1 \: v) q7 xthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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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
& U: W6 u- d3 ], h! I$ Hcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
) @: g- ~. b' e- ?/ e0 e9 XT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
" f8 V- c/ d/ cshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
; y3 T5 [( E4 O- w! q  _+ ?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
7 k  ]# C1 Y8 e* wmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
, _) K( p$ T5 Y% l, O+ Q+ iT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
0 J" |$ m5 m6 V# ther husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
5 S+ q( p/ T, \' AHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
: l/ X1 I6 [, U; E" \- ~+ ET he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
% p. j" g! n: V7 O9 v, n1 Xbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
1 s5 z( z6 x$ d4 T. k6 N2 EThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
$ ]$ [$ \6 z& F; |' Y6 Y2 Sfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
' ~# X, ?  p. t0 Y1 V, ]3 _6 M/ _Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
. C; z" m+ i$ N) M2 c% Fpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
. g/ z+ U( D7 T( {/ Gfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
" S: H+ P6 F; E4 ]3 ?) _) epews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
! o6 Z, P( Y& ]- s+ ithe front wall because it was identical to one
7 E, t  Z$ K5 _0 L, E& uthat his wife had made years ago when
% z: f; I# R0 c. K, mthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
4 J& c+ }( R, y- v3 ?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
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
) _" ^% W* y. q' |take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
6 ~' o. f, |) \: ?( s  O( V. T# e! Khad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
7 s8 a& ?& t! O/ H4 @$ gstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
* o" j# V" u+ u. ithe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
) z4 _* J' q& o9 V9 C% g1 oreunion he could ever imagine.
$ O( k: c6 ?9 R$ ?9 iT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
2 }0 l$ J, }' e: `you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
& L5 |# x' e! K1 salong your way. His love is always with you. His
# t2 r% p! j# ~# s1 Bpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
! ]6 S- L0 H8 Q' z+ ~cares we know He will see us through.
0 t. ?; W) L/ Y, |1 T9 ^  PS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
; o* D: i0 N: }to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
4 _  v* g* t/ Z3 myou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
; f% v9 g, B9 r# isay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
( S5 F( v9 ]+ C( ~/ p% [, ~Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
! B5 d2 _, O; @/ f) [, cever it is that You know they may be needing this
- C! X& }# u" }6 J; v9 r4 Jday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
6 q  ~! h8 P8 ?6 Gprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!