The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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7 u/ @5 H1 v) s9 a7 X0 z8 [- u The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
: W) w4 y- F, @  a0 m, _  s  Hin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
5 `, w6 m* B( r+ Yexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
( h* P. E. O- c5 X2 ?9 ]% `, nmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
' P4 J7 R0 E5 V" pon Christmas Eve.
. a1 j, {- T. `! M: l2 L" hT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
% C! Q$ J6 Y1 epainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
" Q: j% @" k' I& L% arainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
) {/ C4 U5 ]& s6 M: G 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
) J! p3 D' K" A( m+ C8 y8 P20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
  R/ |3 _9 g1 X/ V9 ?of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
, N; U4 D- x8 d& o: vbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
: b# @* q) i0 L  X- y6 b* 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
: Z5 y; f6 ^% J# i1 {having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
% C3 u/ g, z# W7 ystopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
; C1 V- A  |3 M1 _' dwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
, c1 z4 c/ n1 A2 \embroidered right in the center. It was just  


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( n, R8 J8 p9 l3 p# U+ Zthe 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
; P; L- D4 H' i4 n$ \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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# @% N8 A4 s: l6 K# f% r9 i+ LShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
' D1 U( }9 Z! M5 S" \while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
. v5 b( `4 P. ~' ^' N  H9 _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,"
1 W  }' ?2 J7 ~, G9 a/ [3 ushe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
. t9 a1 d! n6 B' X+ U" aThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
8 ^. b) k; r# |/ B- ^/ fthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
/ e/ L6 T/ }/ H2 C/ ~6 k- T; |it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
3 l4 M; o8 W* O! RT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
) k! @7 i" J6 Ftold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
& l' n) o4 ^! L9 Q8 I3 N) Nwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
6 X4 G, h3 G7 L; R5 o* _He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
, u, r( O3 I$ F- M" p0 O$ Thusband or her home again.
( g5 A0 K# |1 W: c# A* l/ j& tT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
. Q; u0 U( h, u  |0 }  ?$ G6 Dbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
2 o, @, S- k7 }4 @The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
$ c  G8 {3 \, m2 s! Sside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& H' \) }/ e8 u+ D$ Lpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
+ n( w+ a' C6 G% I% Sfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
# e. \3 g. F# ^0 \The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
2 D, o" Y3 l  q0 ^% z! c# I2 l9 H7 [" othe front wall because it was identical to one
- r- [/ q! \6 W. _0 ^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?
# T! T. ^$ \9 L6 c2 [8 H  L& eH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
* g8 c9 D2 J( a5 gsupposed 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.
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
had 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
! |7 y! D* Z6 u8 a% j" Qreunion he could ever imagine.
7 |; d" {+ d1 OT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
  I$ ^; g( k+ Y" p, T& Y  Nwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
* u3 v6 `+ ]0 P" e( Q' TI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
! V* w( f+ A7 J2 w* lyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
9 `$ F4 x0 ^( S# {( A5 \cares we know He will see us through.
) r; a, q* h' B* t; B. ?7 g- M2 lS o when the road you're traveling seems
2 \% r' o$ N) F8 {7 i  k4 @: A! M- Udifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
4 R# ^. U; f; o9 F; ?) [to those you want God to bless and remember
/ |9 W+ \/ o+ y# `4 |: q2 E) rto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
$ I3 {; v  u$ t" F8 kyou first.
6 z- Y! J! d" f: t2 `9 QW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
. g  R% X2 p3 \you find out that God is all you need Take 60
" n3 i; M/ C. u: t$ S& b0 l0 ]  f* Zseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
" q- j* C$ U* }! c) m- Y, fFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
0 N0 [% J( P7 b! x  c/ R: uever it is that You know they may be needing this
9 j! `  M  N6 C* ]2 I$ Lday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
, K; t- T# s6 vcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!