The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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4 K' D4 H- z5 y$ v- ]- u0 w: I) T7 t The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
, M! R8 u# |, D# F" t3 B/ Vto their first ministry, to reopen a church
  W1 s% C! w7 F  yin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
9 _! p  i+ r8 U; Z3 B% Eexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
6 E5 W; S8 X/ g+ }+ l! Mtheir church, it was very run down and needed
9 W+ _: g) l' i$ ]much work. They set a goal to have everything
- P9 x% ]: A9 |8 qdone in time to have their first service
( i2 i  v( S$ b+ S, W0 W, a9 v" `on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
3 g7 m$ Z# H5 N! Q, @: ^" |! owere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
, }; y$ p5 d( b# s/ ~  Y/ B% b1 j0 tO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
$ D1 M8 {" |. t/ ^' O( zrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
# T; Q% G$ a! [5 e8 kHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
! o$ T. p9 m( j0 e20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
/ L/ Q. N8 H7 j( yof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
) p+ H8 M7 h! ?* k) l) z. I# obeginning about head high.
2 w3 x: X' M& O' b# @( u6 x5 CT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
) Q; ^6 t' j$ i3 _5 r& tand 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,
4 ~) ?; \8 _+ x) ?* |handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
9 T- R  c; q6 j2 B6 k5 t# wwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
1 M1 a% ]% |* Y7 Vembroidered 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.
  T" i* A, s. p( |0 nB 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
# K; o0 O; X8 L6 @6 _invited her to wait in the warm church for
4 X. ]  ~6 ^: \1 v! X. hthe next bus 45 minutes later.
6 x" R) C# N' q% B! ]2 _
' R/ g( ]* m+ [! t9 xShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
0 P  {9 J" M9 L8 O8 l8 ^while 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.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
1 C! l7 M; [0 @0 q- Z3 Z. a! Raisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
# f8 s3 r% \$ r6 F4 A9 A: cThe 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
/ }, Q4 J  T6 m: }# o; Mmade 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
" @7 J' a, }; ~her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
. m7 Y- ^5 p0 m) m/ ^8 h/ \' Y& O9 xHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
" o6 D8 Q6 @% whusband or her home again.
( t8 G/ m$ ]9 G$ FT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
2 H$ A  O; Y# K4 v4 X% Ibut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
6 E( h/ h$ a. @6 MThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
3 x) T0 O) G/ s$ Z' g8 Rfor the day for a housecleaning job.
+ K- p; q; R6 }5 u- K$ [W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
0 `" v2 G! I1 B2 S/ xspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
7 F; M* W/ C2 l$ c! l' Q7 }2 LOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
! o- Y8 {/ k' j0 [4 Z, i* `  ofrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
2 D' G+ j% U1 H% Apews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
) l# I! \9 K/ M9 l0 fwasn't leaving.
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
, G* O0 a& @: Y1 T: a# dcould 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
! @7 d+ [) m( s: T; Z2 Tsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
8 T  s" C5 Q/ ~- D$ X% X7 C6 yput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
6 [7 o8 w7 G9 q0 G% ?7 s( Dagain all the 35 years between.
T 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
) V5 _( Q3 Y: N" _had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
! b5 \8 r( [* Z) S7 w3 Rstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
# @6 ^7 P4 Y3 ereunion he could ever imagine.
3 v, |2 {% ?  HT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
. T8 N' [$ K% e8 a  o1 d4 T) Mwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
8 H; l: w1 _* ^3 J' y' {I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
# }- r, _3 e- t5 M0 E, Cpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
. A9 Z5 Y+ x* ?1 ]( qcares we know He will see us through.
0 q* g' _! t1 g# k' @S o when the road you're traveling seems
* ?) ?0 I7 ^2 I* _difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
$ s. q% ^' c! X' Gto those you want God to bless and remember
7 Z! {/ n5 ?- [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
/ u0 K' S# e, M$ ]7 U" vseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
7 R' S3 F4 H) z# [who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
( w- S- C3 g& v" q4 C+ y% Dever it is that You know they may be needing this
6 n2 Z- e* @2 ?7 Q2 J( d: xday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
' ^& c; e, g9 [) I( q! Fprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!