The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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3 E0 L2 i! j2 q: @) R The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
- I) x+ t# c( x2 Q. Q/ O0 ymuch work. They set a goal to have everything
4 F2 d' Q+ @9 C9 G9 ]7 zdone in time to have their first service
9 }* x  J; s  G$ M1 I2 e4 l# s0 R1 p8 `on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
6 `& r! L+ z. X' v3 _painting, etc, and on December 18
4 p" p  H% c! i3 pwere 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.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
' V& e& y! b+ b, D: V' ^- f20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
. v* Q* w. ~5 y, Z7 S5 @of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
  H" [) R& ~0 J. C  w$ r9 y5 ?the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
! `9 ]2 |' v, G1 d9 ?1 g' l, }4 \On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
6 H/ f% a% K& w( R1 Rstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
9 e5 N) G  J' T$ O9 Lhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
- Q7 Y% k1 m- w7 \with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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+ m4 F- p3 r) f9 I$ q7 Z% [

% }5 ]/ z) j, V( a! W% f; gthe 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
2 K8 q9 [* l! o3 b; Y! nwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
$ ~- X0 R, Y4 e- M. S' A( H3 a' yinvited 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
; L( A" P- ]" s3 n1 @5 k( Uwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
0 t; ?' U  ^! J  Z% G. Q1 D- }2 pup 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
4 s4 M" Q& R$ F7 {. b, ?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
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
3 B2 z3 `( _; w. F# w$ M7 E2 ]( qmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
  b+ `6 e2 x4 D/ J' XT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
0 O& L, y& T& D: Ytold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
: n+ p$ `! F/ a5 Gwoman explained that before the war she and
2 f5 C6 V8 d" Oher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
) I/ c  S0 d" IHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
% W) M9 k* W; Z7 PHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
% M7 o2 `5 I( T. p2 qT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
6 V/ F0 w% z9 s5 |- S+ qbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ d% [& B' O2 P- L6 E8 ~8 R+ C" Hwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
. D/ D0 T' ^! L+ c: j2 hside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
% Q& Q( x# t5 s4 h% L" jW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
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
: u6 ?  Z6 _: c3 e* O4 n8 F6 Oand many said that they would return..
4 {9 Y. o8 x0 _5 f5 JOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
' W9 H0 Q( E. d7 cfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
4 J, z4 H& |' g. ]6 d: c9 Nwasn't leaving.
8 K/ O9 F0 {2 U2 K; }* Q! f" CThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
. ~# Y8 {% e4 `, _the front wall because it was identical to one
) n' ^2 Z5 F( A0 v. jthat his wife had made years ago when
$ }: Z! I3 L1 e; h5 [5 Kthey 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
' D8 P% d0 B9 u3 x  aforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
: p  `  X4 a/ l1 c; Z+ g, n$ Yput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
9 N: R2 q# ]: c* ^0 C  s- I# QT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
! R+ D, N" V. ]take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
; F. @3 i: d3 q6 |% j& ], DHe helped the man climb the three flights of
9 [, [5 R9 k9 V4 m6 r) \$ c& o3 qstairs 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
! l2 J0 ]; Z/ P, c) F. B' ?who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
  ?# F2 r. _' Z' }, Hyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
" e% F9 Y1 ?, Rpromises 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
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
* C3 j+ L6 |2 w  g0 Sto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you 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* I  L* a6 u$ S' z( b2 n7 |say the following small prayer for the person
7 u/ d- d; j% ^/ u% B- B0 Dwho sent this to you.
0 P7 x3 \7 x$ B1 ?) nFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
9 x9 `% E0 J+ W( z" H" R8 @3 Lever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
! [/ r' T' @0 J, i, F- J2 B- bprosperity and power as they seek to have a
+ T$ ?/ _/ Q/ d" I# C% ~- ocloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!