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
' @* y! n% J4 }& q% A9 Vto their first ministry, to reopen a church
5 e, Q# e! T- q# w8 a" din suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
- m0 g5 p4 t7 t0 Vexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
/ y& c8 X" V1 m6 A" C  X( Ftheir 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
& Q  {) {" j7 d( [& s2 @were 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
, \- i6 F0 v- i0 y4 [leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
! _$ t+ f0 Y; x  ^5 O& v) Z$ {2 |; y+ M20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& E9 g/ c2 s& u4 J, q$ Wof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
4 @; e: e$ J8 e) m. g1 M/ @, AT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
+ c4 n  r( Q: w8 h) Iand not knowing what else to do but postpone
0 }/ R. _9 K( o" \the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
0 a. ^5 \( G: I+ WOn the way he noticed that a local business was
' }8 e8 N( S9 K" lhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
: s2 O- F3 h; |, M4 ]stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
& Q  `  J! ^% shandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
8 v. T; X- ]5 Bwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  



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  V3 n" L1 v8 n1 i( |the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
- f& }+ }3 Q4 A, m! m$ q! oB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
3 w2 ]# j. k/ @$ ytrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
# O' K6 n  r7 ^1 K4 [6 q
+ `, N  q6 @( S. RShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
6 ]2 i7 W: W* Ewhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
! }& }$ g! [3 b: w" n4 rup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
( u8 x7 [1 z" c2 o7 d; ?' W9 Ncould 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,"
; X; F' P) [; ^/ Ishe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
$ Q" y; q# h, G4 jThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
7 l7 v1 ^! }* a' Qit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
% g9 c# c+ S+ E2 o" E+ m4 wmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
6 Q4 i9 h0 t/ btold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
4 }! Y: L" H; w. @0 fwoman 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.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
) E+ K. A1 H5 U( E  }* g8 kHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
( V4 z  j2 d! _2 a7 L: W! Phusband 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
- [' J+ F1 G1 e4 c& ]was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
- r! a/ x: d; w7 l* |! Ifor the day for a housecleaning job.
5 I6 R/ V3 Z) A% R% K. vW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
* Z4 e! [0 C; X% J  {5 j2 p, Pspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
' ^/ S( s. f+ x9 x% Fpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
- h' a; ]+ t" ^5 A( d0 a) u" {and many said that they would return..
+ s, K+ k& \: f5 K# NOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
! c, ?* r/ R" @wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
, ~) i! H5 b; Y; F" m$ Bthat his wife had made years ago when
0 U# O* |3 ^' t& o) R4 V  \& ethey lived in Austria before the war and how
5 |( ?, c, F8 [could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
! Y6 P$ w& l# f! S/ w+ G9 w: d  ?- hH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
# a, |: d0 Q3 I: @5 ~forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
# ^7 ~7 `6 [! w! A" Q5 H+ A) ?+ m( [supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
9 ^! ~6 Q! ]' q0 d. D6 U: vagain all the 35 years between.
; E9 y. m/ o) |, t, X6 yT 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
* g, G  T9 A2 O) R5 {had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
/ h* u: M1 ^. U/ ?1 [% k, n  w( i0 nstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
* u6 s% m4 o( Z! q2 R5 G" C$ ^2 ythe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
* a: R2 E4 H3 U/ i, \reunion he could ever imagine.
% j: m6 @' {2 Y0 }) _T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
6 y& e% b) _3 T- q' n9 N% a9 jI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
5 t) U  x0 s. Z5 q' p- L, Hyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
' w0 J/ h7 Q! W- T0 Y7 W- Mpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
$ `; A# p) i. |+ J' ~+ V9 Vcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
* K) j8 Y( s& C$ a6 xdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
: t" Z& a$ [- j+ Y9 q8 [praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
( l4 I. a6 r6 l& ]8 v9 [9 S8 cto 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
5 A0 ?0 B2 c, J" kyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
- |( ]5 `0 P/ i1 A: kwho 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
+ r4 }! ~: ^' w; j, eday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
) L( p3 H, X- Tcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!