The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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* J  ]* f4 a* Y' ]2 F' Y, z8 ?8 a The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
( H3 _: x9 ~; T, wto their first ministry, to reopen a church
4 p9 x0 E( B7 ]7 U$ D( m( Oin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
7 D, b4 d& y! j/ q* O7 E9 qexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
' M3 N( E4 T( O( p3 f. stheir church, it was very run down and needed
. T$ R1 `$ u9 b* K) a  ^0 v& {6 g1 }much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
" O% c& G8 W5 C! m+ ~( Don Christmas Eve.
; L" X) Z5 ]+ j# x' ^: K6 {' TT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
+ L$ m  ]# |0 m8 r+ W2 K O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
# f8 r$ [2 w( c% bHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
/ q: h# n$ Z5 r3 T4 G2 L: y. R* Jleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
, v' k* W$ l7 u% Z- J& aof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
. `& N) w% M0 j" Q& e/ G; ?beginning about head high.
+ m/ T. g, c% I4 _1 b2 h3 JT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
2 t; `: j- T# I5 i* K9 H. s$ }) F  eand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
' L5 }2 c9 g# \6 ~. IOn the way he noticed that a local business was
: p" @( ?& I2 o: x% {! v, t6 Uhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
$ L( q* A- H8 Q/ \& {4 k1 t; Tstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
# w7 O& W, x+ s9 j6 Jhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
# |. ]) \) S1 j/ }with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
& `/ c) V/ Q7 T# w: wembroidered right in the center. It was just  


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# R6 o5 A* i: B  S) J0 @
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& l9 N8 c! w$ f, Rthe 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
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
' e) @0 Y8 |  @; }8 i! c* dinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

+ a- o# v7 B2 X9 xShe 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
2 C, s: K& K# H, jcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
! v% Y. E9 r+ W4 S5 c2 mT 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?"
) s/ s5 t# A9 S/ ]The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
5 Z9 }) f0 F- q% mit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
, c# R- _5 l- N2 gmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
2 O' P9 J& Z! vtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
! o! Y9 E7 S; i- }woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
  o7 \+ G6 s2 O- d1 ~Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
, o3 m2 b& j% D# E, FHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
& @( P2 `; I5 D% n5 |0 k1 ]2 GT 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
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
4 J' k. X" e. w6 H, c9 D% P& Yside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
$ s8 u5 H( K2 ^* ?: _6 ofor the day for a housecleaning job.
9 E  M" D# w! k% h$ T& }W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
! r$ B$ E- t0 @7 p" I2 [+ T6 _Eve. 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
# z, X: z; [/ }7 a2 _4 z' G; cand many said that they would return..
( ~: k+ G- t) c7 ]5 DOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
  q& X3 P6 N- J% Q# gwasn't leaving.
5 _. W9 I5 t$ f. z0 [& ^The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
4 p+ q6 y8 L7 l5 }5 ^. dthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
5 d2 p: o! J1 a+ x- L& Aforced 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
7 E& I; ^& u, p6 a) fagain all the 35 years between.
' U) F9 c9 `4 C( V2 lT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
7 L1 |! f+ C/ g& _4 stake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
& a8 R, A9 g' z4 t: F9 h0 [Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
0 c3 @2 x2 X4 w$ W% a# L: [He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
  w- `/ Z  U+ W( ?the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
) f7 e9 z9 `0 }reunion he could ever imagine.
1 O* n8 ?. T+ U, s* C& i0 A0 Y7 TT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
2 z7 k5 H6 G# _0 ~/ {* |$ NI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
7 G2 f, \; O. O' }2 ~' Z) V4 Valong your way. His love is always with you. His
& S) _: W* K4 r4 t- F  xpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
5 Y% V0 v3 S# ^, {, ]% ccares we know He will see us through.
4 V7 |% C3 ~+ h+ IS 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
to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
$ f9 Z; r8 j* y+ gyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
  S; d% N% F& t) v- O1 e$ fyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
  s  \2 |8 n& X: }( Y& Cwho sent this to you.
& }( @0 R; D6 D/ R; h+ `Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
+ f, T. w" p3 n8 b8 gever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
' n' D9 ^3 j' z6 [1 K/ _closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!