The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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: Y9 ^6 {1 o6 o, n: h9 l The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
2 j; l" L, o" nto their first ministry, to reopen a church
1 R) J+ ]% g  r% m. B4 a! sin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
4 U4 e3 @( {% ^" [* gexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
2 a  s1 ]8 e2 l; ?! j& ]4 [much work. They set a goal to have everything
) E: B, p. i% i, j: S/ fdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
- C+ L9 N, O8 `  w. pwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
7 p) p) m5 ^5 c6 N. sO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
( G' [9 h% H% a( O) }1 ?rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
2 R+ m9 {: Q+ c( OHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
: d% i* N6 R4 k8 gleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
0 O4 X, i: g3 o5 Y! [. Ibeginning about head high.
8 V4 }' C/ V' m8 p/ LT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
0 S* f0 l# w" J) Z; a) v1 Pand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
7 @; V  K$ E+ M2 n$ x% m( P" EOn the way he noticed that a local business was
  L, G* q: v1 T8 }/ Lhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
* ^4 V+ z# `; ]( P, wembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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) i! g6 U, L7 z2 ~; Q4 e2 M8 lthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
8 \  W" j8 U! o  V. vB y this time it had started to snow. An older
) ?: R1 z" y5 H* ^  rwoman running from the opposite direction was
) r/ U$ S4 f0 v% Z; f3 ztrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
, y6 }4 ]) Z8 u7 R) z5 Finvited 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
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
9 |1 K( `  N. E0 ?up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
, y/ h- |2 ?, ~/ bT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
1 ]0 o  F% Q0 H' r* saisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
+ Y4 g. T6 c$ l/ j; C+ r  ?. HThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
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
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
' D4 {) L& N/ X, k1 ]woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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( u  `" W9 t: u( V* C) S, C+ ^8 SWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
% P5 Q7 }% Y& X) m% z; O9 lHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
4 Q; x) z4 G; E2 K: q5 s- yhusband or her home again.
( X* ~) @+ ~, x& e8 k% RT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
; n' ?: y; f! g* J$ U0 r7 hbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
0 [0 N6 x1 ~8 C9 W9 dwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
: k( ^& Q( _& _( Z$ }8 uside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
% f! Q2 R% z  S* u, e7 {7 CW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
0 e# {* X5 Q+ T* r3 ?( q% N$ mspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
, z) {; Z- b9 O. |pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
) [! ~$ `: S% i7 F, P3 Hpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
& L& @) X4 |2 u7 ]( }+ {The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
/ B/ q' W7 h) Y. ?3 s2 Xcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
# `& Y# x6 Y2 h3 \H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
1 R/ y! V. _" N4 m' c$ Wsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
. [- q3 }) ^' ?- b, T' BT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
% s: b: x2 T4 [! j( p; Z, W  s2 hIsland and to the same house where the pastor
$ y6 E+ B+ G' v; [had taken the woman three days earlier.
  X' b. J, Q( w7 dHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
* D9 C- D* _9 Sthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
$ v5 K/ f0 Z) sreunion he could ever imagine.
! Y) F0 K2 {8 ]9 v" eT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
% j+ S. M' l* A& `$ i( M$ Pwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
8 i9 F1 ]5 |5 T3 D, iI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
. V7 b8 e4 f. I4 Malong 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.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
( A7 z- V' @4 J3 V0 z6 _* Bpraying 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
1 M# M' F4 ~* Qyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
" V: Q  S+ `( c5 F: Syou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
7 `$ \8 A) x5 w1 c+ i" ]+ dsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
1 r' ^6 n( g- ^6 H" [; never it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
9 `, F5 a& x" eprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!