The Tablecloth

propeller

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

& ]/ j  G! D, S- g

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
6 q  h- v) ~1 `* ^* @2 P2 Q& l7 ato their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
; P: K4 b4 k9 S5 k  Jtheir church, it was very run down and needed
; S1 m. V0 o; j1 {# pmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
) q: f7 T6 _; g; Hdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
: R& N. ~1 ?& d5 O, n: v- F. NT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
( q9 R9 N, o) Q, n3 X$ u( Cpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
# n4 p1 U2 k' K( y1 pO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
0 n- V. I5 t" R9 W! Yrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
" y; d8 b3 W- T6 V- l4 f* a% g3 PHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
$ a1 z8 ?1 x* D/ r  e0 Cof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
: f+ {6 ]- [  Nbeginning about head high.
9 l  a6 p, _* ^* hT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
7 Z* w( H6 M; d* c* n) Rand not knowing what else to do but postpone
! ]& C# T4 o- P6 P! b2 A  vthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
; t" O( E4 U1 ~( r0 I; K; UOn the way he noticed that a local business was
& y( }: s5 F+ s( Shaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
, o) D2 E  W( i$ J% S6 n( K+ W3 ohandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
) |( W0 b" }. J" w+ `embroidered right in the center. It was just  




: Q( D1 d$ W/ k
# s' O( E3 G. x4 x$ Z0 q8 w
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
' f9 T" d- j7 Q. TB y this time it had started to snow. An older
; x: k! P( Y- C" D& Rwoman running from the opposite direction was
) K" Z: q  X: t1 Q% n  \" ]- ztrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
/ Q  K( }! {3 _1 L' Wthe next bus 45 minutes later.

) N; F0 @* {- `8 d- Q5 ]She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
. H9 x0 D; _2 n7 Kwhile 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
2 T( S; Y* i. f! o; x9 v* Laisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
1 Z/ t' ]7 c1 g/ ?! w2 h) p5 cthe 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
$ P( ?3 l) ]5 K* @) u! x9 Rmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
+ ^6 p' B, `/ M, |; b8 U+ uT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
; F* L) L/ `$ `1 E4 p5 `told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
) e0 u' c8 o3 v- Mwoman explained that before the war she and
, f6 z0 m( O% e* Ther husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
# @. T1 Q$ F0 eHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
3 {+ a4 r# y% a8 s' s* y5 m& i8 I# fHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
/ i8 ?0 M8 E8 J: h' e4 b4 w% P& Ywas the least he could do. She lived on the other
' C9 v2 ~! S& o% s# o- S8 n0 S2 Kside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
; D6 F# {6 c/ X& Z5 ?for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
: F  H' U$ r1 w3 V; _* kEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
# e: |+ M. T/ [9 s$ q: z+ L$ Dspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
/ i" D' n7 h8 V9 uand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
: L- q+ N  J% h1 O" ~/ ?. t" b" apews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
4 c' h# c! C5 M, r4 cThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
0 e' s- |4 W' J; Fthat 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
5 Z2 o5 }: ~$ Rforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
9 `) r7 X* z% M- Y/ z3 bput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
9 V# T: b, M% f3 Uagain 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.
! @: q7 y5 c$ W$ KHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
; g/ g( k4 z; q2 V; j* uthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
5 J% w9 J/ ^$ W- z$ x: Ireunion he could ever imagine.
, v3 t* Y8 ]$ U6 K/ w. rT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
) _/ I8 k% N/ _7 d6 Y3 \" \I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
% l# }8 c+ G& V, `3 P$ Balong your way. His love is always with you. His
  b& `( S2 i1 B2 U4 h$ \1 U9 Qpromises 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
- F5 Q+ X8 d. J* ]$ O( gdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
1 V! k+ S. e: B3 T1 Z5 Bto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
3 J' l# F: Q1 F9 Q4 GW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
0 c- j/ D" F; vyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
; K8 H/ S# z  Q6 q1 nseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
9 [& i( x( N) M6 G* k/ d2 rwho sent this to you.
  g6 c9 ~2 M3 j5 P( fFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
: D2 g, I7 D% `$ cday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!