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
. F" m$ \; W- l" I- _5 e( ]to their first ministry, to reopen a church
- v& x2 L, h& k; G: x/ Tin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
) q- l, w7 `& utheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
6 p( D* s$ r4 f! h. Gdone in time to have their first service
' X9 t% c! R# }, ~; ?: }5 eon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
7 o/ k6 V9 S1 p2 @; ~( Tpainting, etc, and on December 18
* y$ {% y' H: t. j# mwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
% F( r3 I8 @: f- s9 eO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
7 ^' [1 r! }. U( Z* r: e O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
, z) f2 a0 `9 g; ?& bHis 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
7 m; z  N4 n" g( h) K* `of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
, I( X, m. @1 x0 E2 w. Mbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
5 U- B  L1 h5 D: hthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
1 [  c- |% j& J! X+ Mhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
2 A& ]1 W3 u5 o% n; j9 \; ?9 |1 B: Ehandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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0 b7 g7 p" a$ K; R1 d. V) ^9 Tthe 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
% F- A# @, x; _* winvited her to wait in the warm church for
! h' ]6 c" ?/ p# f; |) P8 Pthe next bus 45 minutes later.

, k7 Z9 f" n: d! E5 p, XShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
7 M+ ^/ |2 G$ g$ z  p( t% Z2 [8 uwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
& t% z, V. o+ E2 \could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
2 C$ e% l/ p4 x- O1 ZT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
. E( X" I( m. f9 x( A# }7 P# Maisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
% n: |0 }; L. v  L7 A; v- Jshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
& g. w; `) v4 T4 V% r& W/ iThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
# [& R# U8 U4 K2 \it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
  @5 j( B- W! P. ?0 a6 gmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
% @1 t: f' ^- n; h$ Z$ e. Otold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
7 V. ~, C  C- E) ~3 jwoman explained that before the war she and
/ A3 F% O8 ~, iher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

4 n& m9 G- Y4 e3 \  y3 @When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
# F9 l/ b- `8 rHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
& g/ V$ \7 t! R. R3 f  ]He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
2 f2 \: }( Z3 D. o3 D6 p. z7 hhusband or her home again.
- @/ J. f+ c: M. ZT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
  y3 K' Z+ T8 B  [The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
0 [$ {6 v1 ?1 n* r/ vwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
: N" v$ K  A, n3 E& }7 i0 ]" j0 Pside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
6 H1 r/ u1 `$ F1 H( UEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
$ j, i/ T( @8 ^+ h8 L2 bspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
4 y5 e4 {7 r# n1 `: N) I3 R; kpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
4 b2 x! e! K6 ~2 h- ~2 jand many said that they would return..
One 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
2 N0 Z( W* }' Uwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
& S7 {% p2 y. }0 f0 r1 \: Qthat his wife had made years ago when
4 F3 Y5 |9 W) `; nthey 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
( r- X+ x. R  g4 Cforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
/ L, c' c0 }4 w+ j' N( fsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
0 r6 v4 L( P9 ~. kput 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
. Z$ a* G/ I& wtake 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
. K% B) E" J+ q7 f* `, Q( [6 kstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
  l7 p  d  j, F  S% F4 O. U% kreunion he could ever imagine.
; ]2 e6 p/ H- V- GT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
  M8 M3 i- E0 V+ X, ]) Jwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
0 ~  D7 z* n0 s, HI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
0 `" n8 L" m* X6 W- m/ x5 Byou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
1 H+ A$ {# B: N; jpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
2 E; j( i6 M( k* X8 |cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
! j: i) ~- J9 L3 r' x6 mdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
" }2 O7 N% S' e& }& {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
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
4 R* b1 L- e% M+ _Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
. P& p! @1 T0 Jever 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
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!