The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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/ c: ^! {- [9 M2 N) J The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
1 r6 p5 s- {2 j  ~. K6 @6 y! dto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
$ C9 N% D% H" J, z4 d/ hexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
. e# q* U# L+ ^2 o) Stheir church, it was very run down and needed
5 B' W# s7 b4 r. L+ g. ~much work. They set a goal to have everything
# [. X2 h3 c7 Zdone in time to have their first service
3 E) L0 \' t2 |6 \on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
  `6 O; |: O. K; |  G4 upainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
/ L0 _6 `% d9 A/ C5 t. aO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
; R' P, q* b$ V8 C" E" Y. I( @4 O8 Brainstorm 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
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& M$ E5 }9 N, ~0 A- J$ J& Qof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
+ d( n! E- [# o# xT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
6 U% D1 Y0 ^- u) z/ ^  R0 E+ iOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
% Z) c1 Q& p/ H! lstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
% p/ M9 s6 b( hwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
9 h/ z7 B* J8 a' }7 t* O2 cembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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) G3 I: b4 N( \# o! gthe 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
; I& R7 I( N! `* Z2 Einvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
- @; x, I" B% h+ d, a9 }while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
7 B  `  F, l0 o! `, Ucould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
7 B( L. m; _3 n9 t: f+ JT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
3 G1 q7 [; {: `  ~; b7 y' gaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
% d8 K2 G- p* x7 k4 |8 qThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
0 L$ w% m/ r. @7 w) z( d  git there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
: @5 p0 b! y5 dmade 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
: @& |6 g: q+ Hwoman explained that before the war she and
' |& U8 X1 V; C! C& aher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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6 B0 ~$ ?+ s0 v$ j, I: \  P4 [When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
4 \4 P/ Z0 d1 {9 h" M; ^. ghusband or her home again.
1 Z8 ^8 n: g5 ~2 e. ]0 y' U5 B% {T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
2 v. R- {# y4 R: Q) ZThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
  g0 Z( Y( u+ j, o: L- `side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
& |; J( p% C5 ?# B9 I9 Nfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
" P8 \/ \5 h! A( U8 a( IEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
5 d- W- n0 E& V0 P9 }- c  _spirit 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..
* L' q* d6 P& Q/ ~; zOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
* G9 s7 I& ^9 f7 s0 [pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
$ [0 G  s& x7 BThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
. |, s, t5 ?1 v7 U9 I% L: Hthe 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
, z! [8 H/ H" ~. f$ U% b8 pcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
! n$ p( y8 N# p  wforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
$ I/ @) t  l; psupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
. a9 c# ~- Q' U, F* d" ~put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
' x( u. `' x6 v( M$ u0 u& X# cagain all the 35 years between.
2 V0 M8 G- w- {5 LT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
. G$ M7 X: i6 F8 N) {) Mtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
: T3 F. z: D! a* qhad taken the woman three days earlier.
* m5 |; Z6 e8 |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
. }1 @' I: J, Ereunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
) \. F' @* X# l4 H4 d) W, m1 p9 Jwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
' m& E9 z$ a6 a" `7 uyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
* ]$ D# V6 q. ?) g) h) Calong your way. His love is always with you. His
' o: k! }0 ?2 N4 R' gpromises 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
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
/ y  \* r2 J8 Z7 Q$ dto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
1 I5 g2 I# B& Wyou first.
: R4 q1 B4 q- Z: o* G! k! WW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
8 j. B( e3 T  q% Myou find out that God is all you need Take 60
; u7 C. A5 {9 S% k0 `seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! 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!