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
5 w& Q2 ~. V! i$ w, |) yto their first ministry, to reopen a church
) X' z. P3 J) A# q+ @& {- {in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
- V$ j6 [" V1 q9 Q  R% r9 _excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
0 n' h9 L! U5 k) V( ]" {; Umuch work. They set a goal to have everything
; ]! ?; Z2 {, T( ~7 rdone in time to have their first service
8 P1 P6 B' V* l( U7 o  Qon Christmas Eve.
2 B' w/ n- n& jT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
" L  E) Y3 k, w! k' a* C3 Lpainting, etc, and on December 18
3 \+ z5 B2 W' ^# B& q, F* r, a/ Bwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
; x  M  ?. s4 s4 B/ m' C2 S8 a* ?; vO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
2 y1 J' a% P* U+ O- srainstorm 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
  Z6 l( G. [) }' T  a. a3 |leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
  e3 F! |$ ]" P) P# r$ N0 B; Rof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
, e9 h/ t' K& t& Q* mT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
  p' D6 X: C; Wthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
2 l: I; @; R: }On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
$ x' D, k3 U( M9 W7 Lstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
% a2 r& w9 y, o( @with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered 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
3 N( t2 J4 i8 V5 o# d( T7 swoman running from the opposite direction was
, ?* H( I, V5 ~9 q/ b2 ctrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
2 ?8 ?3 G+ U# kinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

1 [) Y  u& |, U' OShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
. ^6 a4 K6 B1 i  R  aup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
! v5 X4 x3 b1 K& k( U. Z2 B# b; Jcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
- Z5 M* D5 j! r: `aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
5 F$ Y9 V, a8 X  cshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
# Z, Z, L7 M& P5 V) v' k) ]the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
2 E$ ^1 S' N0 o. r9 l$ dit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
3 r7 B' q  \! A# t8 b+ w" b' Amade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
2 j  X0 O1 K- Q7 T: ^told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
  Z' Y5 Y+ h) {woman explained that before the war she and
: z& I* ^" E4 L1 ]& \/ e7 cher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

* F* y8 L* \& z. ]: T( eWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
$ c, ?" X* g) G; lHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
8 Y. x" \" N, o! OHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
5 X* v, l# d+ j- WT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
% b, J4 Q  q" Obut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
* _+ \% l; R2 L/ dfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W 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
5 N" J* `& g; v6 f$ ]1 k9 Gand many said that they would return..
7 p- z, E  z2 R3 H. ~- MOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
  g9 R: X. c8 ?from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
* X9 O5 ]0 _& Y$ F* l7 l  q3 I+ Tpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
7 o; R$ x4 |0 p3 A# kwasn't leaving.
8 m* n  _/ O- AThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
+ o! [3 Z4 h1 X) w# nthe front wall because it was identical to one
; X+ w/ Z9 S4 T. kthat his wife had made years ago when
. J: a% e* Z: e  ~  L# m+ Vthey lived in Austria before the war and how
( j5 c! g7 v3 icould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
; d( Y( h: x( T; h7 [) b5 F5 `supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
8 ]; A3 U4 h! u" \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
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
$ A4 j. A+ G: {! H+ u, F, Kstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
1 S  C5 O6 K) J& i2 o  A: qT 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
7 g0 X) h8 ~1 X$ Q* F' `. J4 Ayou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
" a2 L) |" L8 H2 m& A6 Q. B1 [S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
0 W( @  [* ]& L3 ]praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
- Z  M: h% |7 j- v! [; [, jto 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
/ s+ I, X0 Z& \& dyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
, U6 h" y; Y6 S8 ~' lseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
3 E7 P4 v% D# x: cwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
9 o4 b$ j1 d$ F3 Vever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
& [& R6 r0 O/ l  [$ R! j  [prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!