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
% m# {1 @* b. v* d* D+ u5 mto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
9 H; _% B2 I8 D& Sexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
% g- W1 J- w, _1 z+ E8 ~6 f$ }their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
' {2 _- n5 y5 Xpainting, etc, and on December 18
" j0 P0 _6 b# {- M! e+ x* ^" Vwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
$ R5 k- r) P& sO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
7 j& j8 {7 {6 F* D; z* L) prainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
6 z* v* s. q! g O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
! }) v) p$ G9 W+ aHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
0 I3 Q; g7 H( R20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
" h  [" o- N. t' ?4 h  mbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
! w: ]/ B8 x- E9 |4 Qand not knowing what else to do but postpone
% g# w& ]) B5 a* lthe 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
7 g7 C3 C5 N8 y- q. `8 o& A5 Ystopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
( A7 a- _  o4 R8 {+ Jembroidered right in the center. It was just  

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/ A+ u6 u& i; u2 @" x6 n2 A- Cthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
/ r0 o! d# x0 m* Z8 l# Z6 LB 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
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
0 k. j% g" L& w% r4 l0 j+ Mwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
/ X' q- W$ f8 r, y% P3 uup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
. c/ V: c. Q* ?+ M- F5 Hcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
' L( B9 J5 W/ v2 }T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
- a  U/ W9 R, |aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she 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
9 f9 b5 ?0 g6 @! zit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
# F- K! z, }1 G. ]% Btold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
; O, W7 ?4 J6 f$ w3 `) nwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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7 o9 Z5 @. B, D7 \' [When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
2 f. J$ q1 C8 x- C/ T6 _8 fhusband 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
5 K$ O2 f+ N& R* f# ~" r( owas the least he could do. She lived on the other
- ]7 D! R, N8 ~) Iside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
8 u6 U( s1 J7 p2 ifor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
& |& y, R$ o/ `8 Y" q0 N* lEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
4 _2 u( C3 `- {. H+ D: g6 B/ I( bspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
! ^+ H  P$ {% k! t4 \: l$ V8 N* pand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
; J) q# f* I$ m  b% L8 }/ qpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
- x3 ^- R+ z  Y. Rwasn't leaving.
% D1 k4 s, d! I7 i) v1 lThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
# o( u& k# t7 Ythat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
1 |3 X% j+ O9 Z, MH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
0 w3 L8 n5 q) n" `6 Msupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
( v8 K4 G* l1 xagain all the 35 years between.
3 X) f# M# f/ L: rT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
: n( {, W) A9 |1 _! Ttake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
+ D) k) n! }7 Q9 t' ^) g; ]had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
1 [: @7 J) k, R* z+ K! ~stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
5 G% o' q6 o; E* S3 o1 p: Y, Bthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
( z( Y; g9 j( ^: v8 ^who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
5 S* v) |; P( r+ L% ~8 @) byou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
, Z# B+ p( A$ e& Q) balong 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
  Y3 W0 p4 o1 Z2 v  ndifficult at best, just remember I'm here
, z7 I# b# k- x# Rpraying 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
7 D5 c7 q. [$ ?. ?) z+ pyou first.
; }, |& ]" {; W: ^2 jW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
% m$ I, d2 u* f- e9 p/ m1 {* xyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
% |) ~) Z" T- S. f7 Y1 usay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
* j. b+ c  R# P4 ]) n! cday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
3 }0 Z: w9 D. yprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!