The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
4 @( h; x( Z+ V
# u! D7 F% {  ]  U0 |* O5 G
4 I, h- }; w$ t% h: b- o
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
) V' ?6 R4 \. f1 sto their first ministry, to reopen a church
2 Z. p4 R5 d; f. S1 ?in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
6 u% ^% f7 t5 j# ^. Nexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
$ D6 q6 J# s+ @. amuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
6 F& U) k5 q& V3 \: g- G" Non Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
  s5 ^. Y, Z& h1 y. t! {painting, etc, and on December 18
$ }# ~, k; @* v0 s2 f$ \were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
7 d! ]/ }" S3 @2 nO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
7 i9 h3 t4 {& u) G8 l3 h1 ~2 z! X O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
; i- L% j& s$ Y3 B% H+ c& `His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
: i: s8 g5 M- w" V+ O7 ^3 T- oleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
% Q- O2 p0 N# e4 z3 t+ ]7 I20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
: J" g' M+ S0 X/ fof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
8 R- N; ?7 J* kT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
6 Q0 x" Z( U8 X- zand not knowing what else to do but postpone
0 C& ]9 t4 m& ]2 B; s1 B$ `1 Sthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
, \8 _+ k4 b5 a% C7 S( i/ Zhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
9 z- W. ^8 U! T# u" ^" Zstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
% S: H3 ^8 V/ C( o! p+ Ghandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
$ ^3 t; l7 h( I9 _  @with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
2 x8 n1 Y& ~7 z: i; v$ e2 T* q$ ~embroidered right in the center. It was just  




# B2 U1 w* L( B, s3 V( P, K
  |( E7 o% h" i* i2 k$ j- z" o
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
9 |0 ~- c$ G% dB y this time it had started to snow. An older
' @# g1 c# `. H: o; iwoman running from the opposite direction was
5 D" Z% j2 g1 dtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
6 u3 ^9 }# `' }& Fthe next bus 45 minutes later.
$ A! p6 T! T# F+ i/ X( s* |
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
5 u/ ?9 v9 w5 M! I) y* jwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
2 m: L9 w3 q- N1 n& iaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
( g+ y/ U% w/ dshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
, K, `: N( k. X+ {. r7 FThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
+ B. k2 K) C6 P5 Y3 ?0 f" rthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
& @0 u8 K9 g3 R2 Kit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
9 q2 y+ m" E* @8 S. x  tT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
8 H6 s7 m2 v' d9 W& s  `. mtold 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 .

9 {4 t6 c& z; l, }7 PWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
# V- x) W  l  o; hHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband 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
7 A+ b& f! x5 ^was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
; B2 K( b" s, S' c) Mfor the day for a housecleaning job.
0 H  e3 b' U' c$ ]! RW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
8 ?: V8 r+ k; a$ ^8 `# l2 Pspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
" l8 t- a. Y) Upastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
- W# n; ^4 ?1 hOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
4 G/ G3 s0 Q: w4 Tfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
/ b" b0 d: c: u. Z1 K) lpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
  V7 P. T/ \. t' q4 E9 {5 Ithe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
* E( W) F. |0 z8 ]+ A+ y% c4 n- j6 s2 Ythey lived in Austria before the war and how
4 G; G& a0 {  H* Rcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
- [6 ~4 [$ B9 V; e* rsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
# q" `( |  s, S5 n3 A: gput 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
6 S4 \- a5 {& x4 K2 F: i3 g7 k8 [take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
% F0 i6 V7 T4 rIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
  P+ l7 }- }* E: pthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
0 r& `: @5 \! o% ^& t3 jwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
$ e7 S( Z* ]  S, G; C! p; o. [+ JI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
8 l# {; F) y2 C) Dyou 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.
  b' d1 w3 h  L. U1 y/ G/ }S o when the road you're traveling seems
" A1 t5 ^3 H8 l7 v" @( Xdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
5 `, V0 ^* G+ }$ Z4 R; Wpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
+ O, f" x8 f6 w5 W5 M9 S8 Tyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
/ R, `5 U0 m  t3 P3 fsay the following small prayer for the person
; z7 X2 o$ S2 ~; Z6 Awho sent this to you.
1 J1 N4 d+ D& z& |0 ]$ W; w, }7 [Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
( `; N- m1 \* e: I7 _7 k. e5 Uever it is that You know they may be needing this
/ N) Q" T- u5 L; q/ ?6 Gday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
$ J1 U- l( Q' h% r( T. Z# S# ^prosperity and power as they seek to have a
' H4 M  M  K: Hcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!