The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason



The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
, {4 K0 t8 B0 [) x6 ?+ bto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
! P& J( ?- V) F" Uexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
7 N# m: W% ~& U- A- E9 Idone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
* \& k4 ?& q% {/ |: a1 S) `7 vT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
% O! }3 y$ }$ `; Mpainting, etc, and on December 18
: S; W' m( Q1 Y0 \, Xwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
/ p/ v2 I5 b9 S& c- p' `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.
) w' f4 F: v% Z% x) I& _His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
$ a8 Q# B5 B/ P' B' M. d/ `leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
+ J+ X) W. D4 j( d2 Z& ]. `+ h20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
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
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
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
5 m1 {- y9 ]& \3 }handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
! \! x- Q% w2 g, I2 F% t+ J8 uwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
5 ^1 T2 h( C  p3 S9 K9 D4 m
7 ^4 p5 B4 A' C) @

- u& ~/ A+ N5 Q- M
" L% m; w/ O3 u4 F6 D( T

the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
( u6 e: E1 \% `$ ^$ y9 B+ jB y this time it had started to snow. An older
) y+ ~! E& T7 q; d- m3 G8 qwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
4 w& u, ?( H% Ninvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
7 Y. `% ]9 Z; w+ q0 a& f% i* D
- h9 y; H7 Q2 c2 M; \3 f, w4 ^She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
$ k) g5 y5 e% k( c- W3 Z  Swhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
* [1 {8 u4 f# Z* a/ h& kcould 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
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
. k: s1 y) ~8 e) X8 k. {9 g1 tit 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
3 |4 j" O* }% s" Itold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
1 `5 b, t4 E0 R. j) U  Lwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
  N! R, H, o$ O5 p) C" m6 E5 t. E6 vHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
5 b, p! J8 j) w) [, i1 Ahusband or her home again.
# Q! ^4 d. c" ?( l8 A/ E7 hT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
. S/ b. E3 E& }) L+ C8 ubut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
* P/ q9 y% I2 ?1 o$ \was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
4 @+ o; g/ J8 b% {) nfor the day for a housecleaning job.
, l$ [6 ]. g2 G9 h! |. T8 DW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
  j  [. S  a  gspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
0 \. X* Y7 k1 Q+ v6 @and many said that they would return..
' F5 W& s+ O  U+ U/ U8 l% yOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
( w5 C2 e+ z, R; I4 V4 Ufrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
4 Z% A1 E+ ^, r9 |pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
& |$ Q/ U, P. W* |the front wall because it was identical to one
7 q" R6 F* `! f9 u5 \that his wife had made years ago when
: b4 b! t# S4 k; }they lived in Austria before the war and how
' r6 e7 t' |0 k7 u! R0 z1 Ycould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
: d! ~3 s# O( J5 k  TH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
$ d: |; E& Q: n. c! A- @$ C) Vput 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
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
9 P5 c8 m" }# U( Rhad taken the woman three days earlier.
( H- T$ `+ r' Y( \He helped the man climb the three flights of
% g( E" s$ r+ y  k' ^: V5 s1 M) Gstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
6 @$ `! e0 z/ p, E, N+ q7 YT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
; n- l1 S/ t! K# _6 ~) t, iyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
+ g* y  W: w, H( G. |- upromises are true, and when we give Him all our
, k6 L3 N9 g" q6 O; Xcares we know He will see us through.
$ K0 `3 n3 D7 d, e: G6 _9 }( dS o when the road you're traveling seems
4 a6 o% U6 y. y1 pdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
2 m3 v# w1 E4 j6 I6 Rto 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
& x3 g5 p, N9 _* Z; h6 jsay the following small prayer for the person
$ O$ ^; ^) ^- B# Uwho 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
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
4 c4 z) {% E! d; }6 u9 xprosperity and power as they seek to have a
+ r2 E% Z6 {9 mcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!