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
3 p; p. F: ^& hto their first ministry, to reopen a church
$ D4 l0 R7 ]5 Din suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
6 T6 p, ~. D$ f( j+ {: Jexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
4 _9 |( S8 \, P* B9 f8 n& d! qtheir 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,
painting, etc, and on December 18
1 d  `+ k) Q# d* d5 k; dwere 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.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
# l9 @4 n4 @) ?6 mHis 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
4 @% k: O" i; Y3 c$ t. n$ jof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
, `, ]4 V' f# B; M; C8 sbeginning about head high.
4 \( Q( D) x8 O3 ?( K' aT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
  @, z# K+ z3 R( J1 fand not knowing what else to do but postpone
% e0 z+ D/ z$ b; b0 j+ n3 \& h7 sthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
2 n$ F! |6 [* F3 C8 h% S  I9 ROn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
3 z* o* Z4 D# b0 b6 o% G4 A$ b" @& Xstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
3 @. D( W1 c5 u- x5 J) {& Thandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
8 T, K! z2 D0 Bwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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9 Z+ y1 A) q& s: O6 p* Bthe 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
# C  P$ u; K* r. q1 ~woman running from the opposite direction was
' m% o% D. b, t* ?trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
. N& W) k2 u9 j; binvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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5 d' R' o8 A; G% ~She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
6 J6 I6 w6 v+ y/ aup 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
& t$ G8 ]0 [8 c+ caisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
7 q/ r, z: D4 Y' ushe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
7 K; f, S0 p& x4 x' W0 U2 dthe 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
# _- m, H- ~' ~. I  ?8 W3 \made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
, [; s$ L! b2 D8 @8 |4 G0 @T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
$ W" F7 C0 G0 d% {& t% N9 O; Btold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
7 L5 `% I% J0 [: m, R- A& O9 nwoman 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.
0 w! E/ V5 A. L' S9 c* UHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
* N" d$ C% G1 [0 m5 Wbut 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
% a7 d! Y  a' ?! X3 yside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
) C5 I, C: S+ \  lfor the day for a housecleaning job.
  L1 u$ Y5 p0 B4 a1 V/ lW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
! T8 f# C3 t0 V" `  B% JEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
1 d% c( N8 q" }. B4 c& `+ g' Q# W0 Tspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
7 ]& }9 i3 s, e( k- @and many said that they would return..
6 h% t& m8 C* Q- v: ^One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
, G( w  ?. _8 G, I5 ~: Gpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
( I  q8 x8 S& D1 m+ M6 QThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
3 q. _, |: @/ y; Ythe front wall because it was identical to one
5 m# B% g  s- A3 e/ Pthat 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
) ]8 d6 P8 K" Aforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
/ i7 }! X8 _- O* _4 Osupposed 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
5 b, Q- D3 W- p" g% z. s6 Ntake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
' P+ o1 b; {2 B( i& K! thad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
% ]) a) E! a  lstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
6 i5 p9 a0 J% |% z4 ^) g+ a! Jwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
6 ^$ [- }+ R, Q& N  AI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
2 e9 }# h# d! R. d! eyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
' M* b3 T! B  S( n0 n/ Galong your way. His love is always with you. His
# E% b9 h$ l; B' C$ L* f$ jpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
5 d" @* c" E, p9 A% L" J. Ucares we know He will see us through.
5 ~8 e3 X; o5 n5 `" n3 `, qS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
* G8 R' R7 R1 Ppraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
, b5 @7 z- }2 D4 w- M2 lto those you want God to bless and remember
5 F( j2 q- B  i) C$ Tto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
8 P- Y4 R1 X/ d& lW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
/ x; ^, y$ E3 Qyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
, `1 o3 l' _' I% A2 Useconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
0 n, \2 h2 f. L  \( ]7 Zwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
. m4 _& J2 S) P8 T; w: @( \1 zever 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
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!