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
8 \# k* p1 W( O) O2 wto their first ministry, to reopen a church
8 B% }- D) z8 M. Gin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
( b+ R. j7 h3 g4 h* pexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
% N% M& W* \" h: N- \, A* ztheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
6 T0 y. n% i! S) r7 c6 y4 O0 Qdone in time to have their first service
0 v7 k9 Q' m: S1 ~- _4 ?$ Q& ^on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
/ Z* g) I  ~' e% k- c5 T; Rpainting, etc, and on December 18
% m# r2 V1 e0 \. m5 p' lwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
9 i( S7 _7 E& e: t8 UO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
  N4 Z1 }( G, t- M* }rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
9 }  ~9 b. S% |  }' J# e% z 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
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
, W1 A9 U' Y4 m' V& `8 M9 K! Hbeginning about head high.
% s: o" f+ X4 GT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the 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
! ]) e, Q6 X; Z1 n+ gstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
+ ?2 N8 B! x' k* G8 j  ?- \handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
- z. R- u" U& e( x( ?: Y' owith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
3 u3 C+ c$ ~1 y) yembroidered right in the center. It was just  


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the 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
9 {- }% w  n# Pinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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: S' W6 c3 n. k; oShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
1 _4 f& r2 a- c+ t4 fwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
6 t" ^' s, |" ?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
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
$ o5 \# a: H+ B+ X& I$ Z, rthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
& ]; a6 @0 @6 @( T& pit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
/ w2 Z- }2 I: K; O/ G0 [made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told 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 .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
2 W  G, X4 b; a3 h1 ~) d9 |5 }: f% PHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
/ K$ v5 r8 v' d4 [5 L' Y8 xHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 y& x. ~+ }6 Y; y7 nbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
, n2 |. l3 m/ S' L6 QThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
; U$ R* j* [- o$ I" V& ?" @! swas the least he could do. She lived on the other
! F. O' f2 u# S! c$ P; ~9 yside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
- S& U$ r) U+ O% c7 @, v: ufor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
# o/ H) q2 [3 T4 T5 ^+ g+ ?Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
/ Q! W# F! t) D- K- c. Ispirit were great. At the end of the service, the
, e" M) p" W7 s" V2 Rpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
5 L9 ~- X/ r" Vand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
) z1 n3 p5 [# [2 Ofrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
* S, B! V$ X. J9 ^# \pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
* k9 _" Q; m8 T9 g+ Owasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
) h: B( Q! u- j, ]+ B- B" i, sthey lived in Austria before the war and how
0 F/ R" r! r; G. y* q  scould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
# F$ G" r0 o; Mforced 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
again all the 35 years between.
- C6 {0 \( P' s5 J  u4 a9 w" uT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
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.
% q2 x. N0 E+ lHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
  c8 I, r% x" m. o) P9 |T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
7 {+ ]& P" q1 o# c* h  n# Cwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
. @, V9 Z- k% z% F% }) pI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
' F, f4 q5 m( o, _9 I7 `you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
) y1 z5 R% Y" m1 g3 M8 R7 Jpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
: Y8 a$ K1 f" P( Kcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
) |$ }( j5 w6 C2 _. B; H( ydifficult at best, just remember I'm here
6 @/ ?; {7 i, K4 Hpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
( `4 O5 c& l5 s9 m* `+ Oto those you want God to bless and remember
% O9 G& ^% l$ B3 d: [5 m" N1 nto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
+ ]! z- N* x$ t7 ?) y& s5 u" ~W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
( T, k; I' o+ K! ?, ryou find out that God is all you need Take 60
: q  o* A3 X" z7 ?7 M8 O4 g9 c5 qseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
0 J( @' _% n: j) H, Z; ?say the following small prayer for the person
" z& Q- g' h1 _. C- f0 C& Gwho 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
* A" r) H$ I% Fday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
$ U& t9 ~0 ^3 ^* D" l, ccloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!