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
+ q+ K# Y& D! R2 a8 o5 Mto their first ministry, to reopen a church
, M7 a0 t! V6 M* j1 Ain suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
: ]% F9 {$ G# ^# Wdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
  u* j) m# n% vpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
! _; x2 `, q  t1 XO 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.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
$ N' @% Z8 L* V7 n! o1 R20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
. l' O8 s: e$ J! s! k0 U" C* Uof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
# r+ \" O: f. Y! n) `' P. M( p1 c" ?$ }beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
7 a& Y& B0 X# ]& K2 fand 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
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
) t* C. F" P" _  M3 Fembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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: |& S% \& }& f7 V" _2 Q3 v$ S% O
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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
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.
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2 }8 a8 F4 Y1 T/ Z( ZShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
- J! r  X! X+ I$ [4 @up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T 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?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
! B! `9 o  W& Y* O* a& o/ C9 e" }5 Rthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
4 w% G6 o0 w6 a6 }) Iit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
2 M7 t1 b+ P. P1 B* P& t; ~) amade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
" G( d1 q+ b+ ~2 M) v( g3 {8 Gtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
7 d- ^- s( ]) Zwoman explained that before the war she and
' Q, V0 F$ e2 V* Iher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
* C& [5 S2 q4 c+ i% y# EHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
: b; t: @% R9 D7 O! E5 OT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
2 o: B3 N- M3 t6 i& [3 O2 }but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
0 u2 R& _1 \: h- c% a7 @* Twas the least he could do. She lived on the other
' c$ t; A5 G: Tside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
2 Y2 j0 O& a5 c, v+ f0 N9 Q" kfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
; S2 L( Q/ N6 U$ k0 rEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
) m5 Q( _# U! t+ W6 r7 e1 L  {# \0 R* u, rspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
! F( v# k8 u  y# x+ a* kpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
: U3 s6 r0 s" Z4 land many said that they would return..
8 v& |- i& r9 o  r* Z6 oOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
9 {- {3 W/ K3 i% D9 W! xfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
: n, X: |7 S6 _" Ypews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
. k2 c8 H- H$ d: ^6 Gwasn't leaving.
6 @# C& p/ p' V, a, [The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
! q9 I2 y% Y. l- m4 ?8 ^5 p. p! L; Bthe 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
could 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
! C% V8 \' a  t: T7 z- Ksupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
' m) U8 [% R" |$ a6 Q9 N, Gput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
3 m5 Q( v- K; D8 iagain all the 35 years between.
) m8 v. C& }/ \5 O% Q$ x2 E  BT 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
: L' N# G2 w% v; @had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
4 i6 L2 |' v4 S: M- Ostairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
6 r' \8 n, ]+ r* _0 j* X9 athe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
! w$ j% e4 o: Q5 G! |6 Ireunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
6 c3 N0 c4 [- y8 i/ D& A* `' |who says God does work in mysterious ways.
; _8 P3 ^- E' {I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
: Y, H8 b2 f: o# T$ o( Calong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
$ Z, m  u  M# S5 tcares we know He will see us through.
/ R8 B, y0 J7 Z$ g0 Y* KS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
* ^( ^2 h9 C& _0 n+ M# ]praying 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
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
! o, E- q( y7 u+ Q: {' iyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
  s1 j9 h1 I: c: {* Esay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
/ B5 }. M2 E2 Z! fFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
, ^0 ?) ?7 W# P2 x7 pever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
) m+ D( W/ a/ J5 F( c/ ?0 mprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!