The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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* c9 T' a) d) v+ A+ ^# k The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
* f$ P1 W+ R6 M) C4 Cexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
- Q( X" y7 D! _) {( K% F" Wtheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
3 B8 G; F4 M! N( f- M2 xdone in time to have their first service
" Z) d& p" I# c4 x: |: Lon Christmas Eve.
* R8 ^8 M+ V/ FT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
' @) `% F1 Q6 B2 b5 tpainting, etc, and on December 18
' |- j3 e" U9 B+ b) kwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
( s, x# o) V% E% W9 ?6 |% y8 grainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
8 B: j2 A+ W! S8 P) THis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
3 \9 y8 o0 v  @" c+ T# K, _leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
1 d1 R0 X  L) n$ I3 j% U1 @& V( eof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
8 }7 B# ?4 R% y: [3 L2 Z# a& Nthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
$ k) G  i  j) Jhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
& u9 f* s; ~1 N. [& Hstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
5 Q0 T* X0 _9 o5 R- {1 K7 Zhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
6 `& F( {% B+ s$ U# S+ W" Qwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
- Q# l: Q+ F. o; `) i6 |3 @embroidered 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.
0 `$ f# \" @: K" _% e' u0 hB y this time it had started to snow. An older
" {  z+ l% P" N4 Y* ywoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
! L% N; u9 v$ \4 k8 S% {invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
; V! v4 u" v: }* aup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
, A) G4 O, @+ `. w( Tcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
6 j/ h- A- ~- l) L, C: r& x+ kaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
- ]- g$ v  E+ e: t3 A3 ethe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
, b( m) C7 [6 `  Y7 n: e  F( @( Bit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
' u2 N6 n# ]% U8 Y' c( qmade 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
' x6 u0 b  K; }; P" j) wher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
  W1 }, v2 |: w/ U/ }Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
/ W% ?1 t) I/ r) j( jHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
0 X* L, N  e1 H- G- I  s1 Jhusband or her home again.
8 {& m! a6 m" k7 ?& nT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
0 E1 b) F# ]* C; o! M" z  j1 y7 y0 B( EThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
/ O3 ?8 ~9 @  D1 K/ s1 twas the least he could do. She lived on the other
4 A) o- \. D% c8 [+ C# ~side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
; k1 C: }' [7 O. Q9 A# v- Zfor 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
: B7 k6 }/ X) O0 U& K& z. u7 g. Cspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
6 W- |' ]2 G: e+ lpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
3 {9 l; {7 s/ s* R& Gand many said that they would return..
( ?6 N5 `. B- POne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
# b' W" ?4 D3 {) Hwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
7 y0 ^8 R6 o: E3 h! V2 mthe front wall because it was identical to one
4 m( V* h7 `1 ~5 I! y7 |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?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
; E9 R6 m! P5 l9 a( {2 f2 p7 F  Xsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
1 W  J" R+ q. M) n4 S' o+ Dput 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.
4 u% k8 T, e, Q- O: Z( G& B/ S, lHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T 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
" m$ V# o  s9 Q" r. @you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
& {/ d2 D. ], q" g4 U9 [along your way. His love is always with you. His
. q- v& ^& n3 N9 `' xpromises 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
; n6 Y5 U, g5 i7 d3 t5 S. rdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
+ W& q6 G6 g6 d5 A) W- D8 v2 Vto those you want God to bless and remember
  ~, ~1 e% J/ G9 a: A7 A2 a0 vto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
  _0 n; ]- k6 Gyou first.
1 n! A( J, a2 Q$ h& r! ~W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
6 C! e* m( l1 E7 n( W1 M9 h9 Ksay the following small prayer for the person
0 t  q6 F# r- A- s9 wwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
8 ^( N3 h! {# B& E' O1 w, Lever 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!