The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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( X) b  D: g: _- a: r4 O# P2 P The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
! J5 A5 m5 V6 s" i: Fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
: w6 S# |* e  ctheir 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,
* j+ h0 k# T0 ~7 q5 j+ \0 `5 cpainting, etc, and on December 18
( M2 X  P+ g/ ]' S/ a( }were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
- S: _3 U2 F- K1 S# q: |. VO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
, `: W( R; {" U. a& jrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
- D: @) Z& _: V5 w8 k' k1 ] 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
. R* F+ e8 b" X20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& ^$ X- h0 l0 }" Rof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
+ P8 Z! W  G) L" Y# j9 ?+ cbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
) M' h) ^( x+ C' f1 R& ?2 W: y# Mthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
7 Y! ?: D* w! m$ bOn 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,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
8 s) S0 L4 c1 ]2 ^2 D9 nwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
: [! e1 G9 U$ t0 u: ]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
. O2 P( u+ {$ V8 y4 C8 s9 [woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

/ D7 _+ X6 ~: k/ b) B+ \7 S5 B' i7 fShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
) `/ K  i, D) w; ?2 w# `, [% R' Gup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
7 Q) B, ~  A) k, v7 ^: v7 Ucould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
7 l- V  C' K; W1 ]T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
) a+ O' T3 S  U4 Jaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
1 g3 ]$ l" |4 q$ z; o) X- ^The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
& {5 {; a6 q: o" G$ J( [the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
' }* O6 P) z* dmade 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
2 d( X7 U& n9 L3 ^3 R2 d0 Y8 N" Mher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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* _7 ?& I  V+ A! A6 JWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
% S. A$ t( b4 W8 N; eHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
% r7 Q& v3 l  b* e+ A; S  HT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
4 @1 b8 d7 h' M0 `: h" `( qbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
. ~, g$ ]  c8 z8 y( M8 A7 r. |The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
' o  I, C. i4 ~+ Y3 N. d& b* zside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
2 X! ]# u6 C. L7 H, _+ }7 @for the day for a housecleaning job.
2 {. Q% r+ b1 L4 LW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
4 {2 l# a' W$ Vspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
, l* S% P' c; k5 rand many said that they would return..
3 a7 x0 O1 e, L0 L1 J. DOne 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
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
- t- W( a- f1 w1 |& |- G8 uthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
" K* B" q% x( w9 @" X/ o# d9 f* Xthey lived in Austria before the war and how
6 M2 n0 W% c5 f0 Z: ocould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
9 s3 q* P% R1 C$ g, L5 ?; V8 Wforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
- }( f1 F: a! M2 j7 Z) i( E# ~/ _put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
! [( M6 P( A# G0 ], fagain all the 35 years between.
) E0 G: }$ ?- f/ iT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
  C1 [, m& H  U7 `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
: p. E5 t! _. E' p  z* B5 dstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
2 Y/ Z2 h' z8 g8 rreunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
) D$ ?) I9 J8 B8 f, swho says God does work in mysterious ways.
3 s+ M- P+ Y4 L5 E% HI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
9 H6 L. A& q( s0 E/ h& wyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
/ Y6 P% F- z0 v* ]) t' g1 ~. o/ xalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
# L& z# A. e: K+ ^cares we know He will see us through.
) n/ o2 n  L, K, AS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
4 V3 D, u& O" z  G9 r3 B7 s: a9 epraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
7 J) P1 ~: Q  _6 o# j8 gyou first.
4 Y# n+ G. `( A& k; O' P2 A0 z$ ~* ^W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
" H# g1 M  i; h3 {6 lyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
+ Q- x/ x, M9 `- G# e# wseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
& [, p1 q7 o- nwho 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
. I1 ^6 F* y# [: @1 \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!