The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
, R3 E; Q  o& {* c! O8 mto their first ministry, to reopen a church
$ l5 U5 q3 z3 f9 e* z, e4 d/ Uin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
9 ]- q' R, J& h( J9 A! ^excited about their opportunities. When they saw
$ y& S* v! y7 A) xtheir church, it was very run down and needed
7 }2 W6 F( n4 S+ e1 k* Hmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
8 @9 K' [1 r' e. L6 Aon Christmas Eve.
9 i  }6 n0 T4 N) v. ^2 XT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
" a  W+ G8 v2 Q" \0 Z7 apainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
  E- }2 a: t3 r1 }. j$ pO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
0 i' Z! {; c- e, N! Y7 ^. a O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
% U& B% k7 q8 X& l4 v: {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,
& V$ L( ^5 E4 h; A+ {and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
5 l4 J) ]% K* WOn the way he noticed that a local business was
. t0 N2 b! t0 c, E; O0 Q7 Ghaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
3 }* t- w) @6 X* Y# A4 Mstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
0 O  t- \3 }: {; V2 U& xhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
- X1 r8 }5 `3 a: lembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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2 n8 W2 U3 W, ]# ]& ~/ U$ G9 x
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; M, j1 \9 ^9 j3 D. v$ I. Z* U* |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
- q, x) |% T4 e* X' }woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
' ], e8 X9 F- a9 d  A6 y- q: pinvited her to wait in the warm church for
' x: G" h* l6 ~( I3 f1 L$ ythe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
) m/ A1 K. X) xwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
6 Y' [/ N+ G! P0 g6 f* }up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
; l. i+ H# H1 H8 s: \T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
) e& R5 e) U: {+ A- [1 hThe 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 .
  o- p& y" U: B7 Q4 O9 s; GT 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
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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$ e8 e9 R" }2 ^: aWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
1 m9 ]7 |( R+ ^7 Q2 i) g# @He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
4 [' m0 V6 g- {2 Vhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 a1 y  s( a5 x( g( Cbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
8 H5 O5 p" a2 y3 g2 G& jwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
2 N2 T4 m6 Y2 Hside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
: R4 v2 v; _3 J2 Mfor the day for a housecleaning job.
: Q, C. u5 d2 q9 @! C" o, ~" {W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
7 O' c, {& S. q% d$ sEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
+ C  S% O8 M: t' vand many said that they would return..
: d/ f: X7 ~+ J* M1 b% POne older man, whom the pastor recognized
  @: F/ D% @4 A4 F/ Jfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
8 V$ E% n* m5 g3 P( wpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
7 S8 {2 c7 y5 Awasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
; x- N0 \" {* Z) a5 dthe front wall because it was identical to one
% R7 x, \) R7 z- T9 Qthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
; J2 O) U6 D; p+ O- kcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
% }" U3 O# ^; `- V- c4 a7 n! ?( Uforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
3 v5 f/ f' _; S# i; h9 dput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
- `" X) ^# R' E1 U1 Vagain all the 35 years between.
. w: B, z7 C, S# i5 oT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
% A6 k+ z# S' R* K. g, gIsland and to the same house where the pastor
5 S* C3 G( y9 Z' q  ?2 g% }had taken the woman three days earlier.
; D3 d2 n. U; |" E3 L+ K! I3 MHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
" K: ^3 d% S' Q8 c! }  s+ l) Kreunion he could ever imagine.
$ ~1 p# V  M" C$ t; x. ]% [/ G# I7 LT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
" q7 G+ t0 Y7 g# s* v; w. v0 I% kI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
. y5 Y, g2 ?; j. b' [you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along 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
6 e$ Y! T9 b/ q& \; _difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
2 ^4 t) t1 @' v6 E' L2 @to those you want God to bless and remember
, n' d& O0 Y+ ]) a( xto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
3 [: h$ R* O7 `. H/ z2 n+ Y* M5 Dyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
  U! j3 G, D% [2 B4 w. ]' Wyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
9 f( r$ S" F9 Gseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
( z# B6 q2 f' X+ M/ P+ PFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
4 \2 X" {, r4 P7 n2 Cday! 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!