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
" H) s$ \7 i. Z4 N9 z% lto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
* G, k0 g9 y9 `excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
' l2 B# m$ U# Ddone in time to have their first service
2 \- p* E! ~! a# t% `) \4 v; Won Christmas Eve.
* O: i  K$ @- @" CT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
& i) j0 f) ]; ]6 U/ Y/ Wpainting, etc, and on December 18
6 o$ w4 b% m& m8 T' f- k: [1 Hwere 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.
$ f' N7 L: F1 e! y' ~/ Z  g# ~! k& s! ^ 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
4 B" R/ ~. o5 _8 j, K! T6 j' Y/ |( Gof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
# C# q, A, {1 X) y: g5 H, Gbeginning about head high.
( V, t5 \) c* l2 x: A% B$ |' j8 [* yT 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
' Y- h" D' }9 F; w/ V+ vstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
. D+ t- Q8 r" Zwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
$ m% j% j; M% Rembroidered 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
. D+ j3 M" _5 `% C- w2 y: swoman running from the opposite direction was
2 v/ q# i  d0 O# T: ]8 htrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
: I8 y+ z8 e1 s' t- O; [the next bus 45 minutes later.

$ M. j2 j) ?# K9 o0 b" K/ S8 K" p% sShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
1 j' Z' U% ^0 q9 J% E, l- nup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
$ e# r8 A+ l4 o& D- bcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
* G3 @: |3 W. s8 T4 q/ yT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
4 A8 s% O' h4 p2 U" G7 y" Maisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
, t4 w9 f, \* eshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
9 o3 S) m8 @0 y1 t, s1 f. e3 vThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
# F! e( G2 E; L; s2 m& F5 n& }the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
# `* z! i5 w7 i9 @! A" p' nit 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
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.
# q+ v6 S6 `9 a: t6 iHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
3 @: v! c6 H0 R! `He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
' Q, @; _) e' O" S* J9 A, Uhusband 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
/ [; N7 D, @" t5 ^5 c: L9 S& `was the least he could do. She lived on the other
4 W) q% {( v+ `, p, H# ?side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
7 b; F+ H9 W  ~  {for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
/ \( E- M2 [' U' `Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& ~' X* j6 I  ]pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
2 Q3 L  x; W6 R# W$ NOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
/ B$ H( _7 X$ ^0 T: h0 X' kpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
4 Z0 [- \# L9 a! \3 G& Zwasn't leaving.
- Y- L7 D+ D* H+ MThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
" o( R$ ~+ E4 Sthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
" g) b. t2 j) n# t+ bthey 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
  i. x& w$ u% X) d* f5 Iforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
) \+ ^$ {9 ?2 y$ Q" e, {* h% _put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
1 T: r$ Z. H$ _8 F& UT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
* Q$ X$ k+ C* t, z& nIsland and to the same house where the pastor
2 g% A0 ^0 e5 i  f2 Zhad taken the woman three days earlier.
1 e. s7 ^8 ?: j2 e( Y% ]He helped the man climb the three flights of
' o) ~% Q9 T( V1 [8 c2 Vstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
5 ?$ L: }3 {+ K4 `- Treunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
3 _$ Y! ^; }2 A5 y& M, p) VI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
5 p( M$ P6 v  Q+ h& y& Fpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
! t1 T3 I" d" M- I3 u1 m+ ecares we know He will see us through.
2 w7 {3 z8 y: O4 f. mS o when the road you're traveling seems
" K  q3 P+ w; A/ h) kdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
7 R- ?2 x* @# S: C" P: m1 vpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
9 \. k4 Y. \/ e+ j4 Jto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
# ]$ K( N9 `  T" s2 kyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
% D: e5 a' `3 oseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
! {$ J& c. B* J8 d1 |1 Z4 i2 z: eFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
% S. M7 h0 h8 Iever 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
: N1 I1 V) j! w$ icloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!