The Tablecloth

propeller

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



The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
0 g2 n: J! q! _) I5 Htheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
, Q1 u' w1 y/ w# \" F# Hdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
& i8 j+ R, c& \8 hT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
( w+ |1 z- a" r( K8 Iwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O 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.
$ \1 J; i$ K  l* x2 x$ t+ T- zHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
6 X' p& z/ f+ a# T! uleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
. x7 p/ `" u' `! f20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& {6 ?' k4 f5 d( F/ |" e$ Sof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
* ]/ o6 N8 _  _3 Y1 p/ ubeginning about head high.
7 y0 V% _5 L" J% S* p1 Q  [T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
1 J, {  R4 |5 N) a; `: Y) ^and not knowing what else to do but postpone
, v( C' W3 O- M" a3 ^# Y. s! j& {" pthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
1 ?; z+ o0 U! fOn 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,
: @( ?6 T8 L7 F- b5 s; H% V' Ahandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
0 W2 K( Q. j! M" H' twith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

+ G, P) [/ c5 u


' d8 ?" v' m: s5 y, I

the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
3 J& U- @) n% R$ O3 F! q: FB y this time it had started to snow. An older
3 R; `* W2 P0 A7 Jwoman running from the opposite direction was
- e1 Z2 G5 ?* G2 G, xtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
9 s+ r' S# B' h, |% h, Dthe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
5 O3 b( }2 e8 {while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
/ ^& z0 V! X3 P. ~+ B6 bcould 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 y% T2 F  m: P* e( Tshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
+ j) r- X) u8 l+ v# T/ UThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
2 a2 ^. o( I/ h) e+ W& ?# Pthe 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
" o" ?) U) g4 W) d. }0 i/ g) J' }made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
) F* [, C9 L' L) y( S! gT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
9 J+ z3 q/ a3 R% Y3 \$ M9 w& }woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
$ c7 x0 x; I- ]* C. _1 X+ |
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
" H( H8 |) T" V0 d/ P. u/ YHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
0 ]; O) u6 u) hHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
+ I7 \% ~; J( G2 Gbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
5 H2 O' }( v" v2 _/ F# d% FThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
% P6 }) C7 D1 \# n9 {was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
1 _* ~2 C! m+ fW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
( T& B' b+ a6 J. w" P/ FEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
! a- t" ?/ R* s& fspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
- v% v1 ~; h# N( b+ }pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
9 {# {1 d: e9 `$ V) BOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
2 m( B- ]1 k; }from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
  L8 O4 n& R1 ~: k6 qpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
/ J# N2 F' m5 o% [" g: N3 ewasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
+ k; z/ M+ q/ l' @" z# C) Zthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
4 p$ H3 x# v4 m/ ]could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
* `, p* w2 B4 u" o  e4 wH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
1 I, C" r* Q9 Z& Vforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed 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
6 M0 W  p( h, }" F, j. pIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
6 u' W0 g$ A" C: w' r0 \$ astairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
1 j! h* o( x1 x4 ]; f9 j6 f+ athe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
" U  h( v3 `7 M3 ET rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
+ A+ L2 ^5 d: l0 w) J3 E7 cyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
: Z6 `% T2 V# f$ H5 l! a2 walong your way. His love is always with you. His
  D& Q9 G3 b2 T; j; l: npromises are true, and when we give Him all our
: t/ t/ [1 \6 w5 @) |, S) jcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
  e! g0 d& z2 C- ~praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
% a! D& \1 _* R# t1 ^: h% [" Cto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
4 u& v3 @2 ~9 V4 c" vyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
/ P0 z/ s. ?1 Z( h8 M9 ~say the following small prayer for the person
: f& ?" I! f2 i) m7 E, G8 f2 Jwho 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,
, a, O3 j: w- a& c* w; |prosperity and power as they seek to have a
5 B1 e: c6 X- O; Ucloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!