The Tablecloth

propeller

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



" M$ N. {% X7 H' ~3 f" |: U& o The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
. f+ G, o7 _2 {0 y' lto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
& x4 `) R1 n- \' Z4 p* R; fexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
$ z5 A+ J; v, g" K& Ktheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
7 G4 x% f: S2 W2 Ydone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
7 ]1 _/ O# [( W9 h6 b* \1 qpainting, etc, and on December 18
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.
( y/ |" S5 Z- _- MHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
9 W+ f' c  Q3 Q' M! B20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
4 ?0 D! J. t3 Vof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
+ o6 C. Q# p1 @2 B( A* t- \beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
# @4 B0 M# O- p! \) c$ J* ^  F+ Iand 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
- ~/ g" r+ m: G# k2 Cstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
, J: I3 ~8 M7 t7 T: qembroidered right in the center. It was just  
0 K# A+ F6 U: ]( z2 e2 z% C
! M/ Q; k+ {* B# x9 R! |



! S5 n% [5 w0 {* r
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
woman running from the opposite direction was
2 g, p& [0 W' g0 P6 L, i+ \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.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
2 H% t6 m. x$ H1 wwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
0 \& A: ^( x$ R6 y  D; IT 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?"
& H% @$ R3 @$ t; o. x! TThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
9 T& z& ]9 L# S8 }( ]- uthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
# D2 s3 K, ?+ y. n: ?7 R" Cit 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
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
9 B; L' D$ A1 Qwoman explained that before the war she and
( u, P# S4 s1 J% U, f7 F% e! r, Vher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

( x8 n" d/ Z* Z& [, v& eWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
# ~; S# `  r" {/ XHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
2 P- }4 x; W) t, IT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
% c" b5 L) j: u5 e4 a; g: Qbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
# p* s* u; V$ B9 u; M: f1 Q2 p0 N( cThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
  E& ^8 f# Z4 V7 ^7 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
$ G5 R9 [" o; g, p* MEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
( ~1 t) L6 o% V7 {2 [2 dspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
: G9 C( [6 \! O1 ~' {; e) C  s5 mand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
9 v  A. h  U  ^  R" B, vpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
3 V/ _+ ?' z- n5 ~+ ewasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
# V% U$ {$ b, Y8 N* \$ @$ i# L; O5 fthe front wall because it was identical to one
6 v3 y+ h; }. Qthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
. Y4 T! v+ ?4 w" z: fH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
; U; Z( A5 z1 C# [5 p8 {8 m/ ~0 C( wsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
+ T6 Y3 ~  M! w( H4 p! J$ fput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
9 l7 \, b" t5 p9 wagain all the 35 years between.
0 l5 C0 B: j8 v2 pT 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
6 F5 V# r/ ?  M; Mhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
5 A6 [$ H, a. ~) M: z% w  Creunion he could ever imagine.
% Q, L* e+ y5 ~& ?. }# Z$ V) NT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
6 c3 H4 O, Q$ II asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
9 m& l! G3 S0 r# ^4 \5 z/ \+ jyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
# x. j' D/ r9 x6 j9 y6 I4 @4 dalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
* \/ H- B7 \, Q. V# w1 ^cares we know He will see us through.
- \9 {1 Y5 X: i2 [$ qS o when the road you're traveling seems
6 t8 h) @4 B6 F2 Qdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
- K* H) d4 T* H; h+ i& tpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
8 W  M/ Y0 _/ P7 uto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
. V5 F8 N, W: m/ x8 \  g7 K7 OW 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
6 V3 V. F/ J5 z+ i2 jsay the following small prayer for the person
who 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,
% H$ j' K- w* F! U; d$ z9 v* _( hprosperity and power as they seek to have a
: X9 N2 c& d. T: ~0 p/ S) S5 [closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!