The Tablecloth

propeller

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


# |. _( k- J! P2 O% }/ S
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
3 m% T7 N  |4 Bin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
6 p9 J. v0 b6 g- j( jexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
% Y$ N( m5 ~! U% J# Z; p. ^their church, it was very run down and needed
0 l8 j4 D" \' b) L; `much work. They set a goal to have everything
3 u+ J( X( e1 a0 s2 Qdone in time to have their first service
* V# L- d4 \7 Q+ L  K0 Lon Christmas Eve.
) \' `0 Q3 }1 U+ ~  eT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
8 G. l: ~  M+ M0 dO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
9 z. \* h) W/ j$ Grainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
9 e( y! b% w7 X9 NHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
8 w0 ]- _) S8 s1 q0 `+ pleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
# n) V9 l6 A5 M7 ?$ |3 Z20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
9 |/ k0 ~* f7 z' S. r! Sof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
1 E+ j2 C  T( a% [: ubeginning about head high.
+ \( ?3 A( q( D% S9 `: NT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
, c- o( C/ ~6 m6 l( mhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
0 E/ a& e3 [) c, m* Q8 ^stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
; S8 c. ~* Z5 m0 shandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
/ s( k8 X5 w& m8 [! _, L' D/ ywith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
! L5 ]0 \' H6 L& @9 M! g
( }/ x6 Y' e5 J" K0 @1 O% G



2 s; q  m/ ]% p! `- i7 r
: L  s7 O8 W) p2 f) M' Bthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
! z. A0 F% }5 wB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
  ^9 w3 U( p. x) y* t+ strying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
4 L6 ~/ `* X2 Y& Tinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
; b% ^: L, m) r
4 ^0 U% _; d8 C( C; x  T; Y1 WShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
6 W$ p+ E+ T- M1 H  x" x8 ewhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
! B0 w3 D( P- p. W5 Z% dup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
; m) [6 Y- g1 ?7 n- i3 m0 ~; [T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
; L+ q% O8 u4 G& x8 C- D: e# Nshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
# ?  i/ f1 k' k+ wthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
" r( d6 ^, P' f* _it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
: o! }! C- V9 {T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
; B2 x- a" r9 n& ^4 C$ p7 `told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
( S2 O7 [3 R- W  ~$ \+ s8 qher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
: H! O9 B7 y7 Z& H* F' ?3 K; q2 Q
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
; r; ~. h) }5 J) o) z  x6 zHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
+ J2 i8 p! B# i% [+ ~3 [He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
- G  w. v4 d4 n  D( V7 T" l9 p2 z+ fbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
% W  s4 i2 ^& U/ W8 cThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
4 J" w( d! q9 `: F% A; rwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
: R# b0 ?4 {2 [side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
/ p8 u# k4 k( N% Y9 \7 |W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
8 i6 p2 v: a; p2 Rspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
! C' B% }( s6 b0 N4 ^. w3 Upastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One 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
/ s" Z( M2 K( |0 i8 jwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the 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
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
& j2 ?7 |$ x( z  B7 J+ m/ O' Z+ tH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
  s+ ~. b4 I) k, b3 A# p" |; |forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
, x# V0 p" Q* j6 g' w! vsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
: _$ H1 q) C- b1 Wput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
4 H( B; ], u1 B; |% pagain all the 35 years between.
4 H0 O& |- D* vT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
1 w9 u& p% T, Z( Ztake 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.
. b$ j" h2 ]- y1 X7 THe helped the man climb the three flights of
. |- A; X* d* Z# a. vstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
  h0 V# l( B# O* z- g! ~the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
8 h. C7 z; O; ]  N8 X" T$ `T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
7 K1 C+ ?& t1 ewho says God does work in mysterious ways.
/ y- H; ]: Z4 d6 p$ h& vI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
, l  x4 w- q6 q2 O- B7 C, }. A% Kyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
* ^4 H1 h. C9 _8 ?! o9 s+ @; Walong your way. His love is always with you. His
4 T& q( t9 q- Y; Z  wpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
5 Z; u9 T& W3 K- s+ c2 H6 hS o when the road you're traveling seems
: E$ Z! P4 I" N2 l* l2 `difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
/ \+ V% N' B7 C; h6 U1 n1 fto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
! s) y. B, m, G9 D) dyou first.
4 f& e3 b; s9 L2 M( V. }W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
, ?. d( c+ T) b5 b( g( Myou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
, c1 V. F( K0 o0 {8 p+ h, Xwho sent this to you.
3 W+ T8 q5 z, {9 @+ M* T' Q: cFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
  T8 h9 z3 W2 q8 [6 y& fever it is that You know they may be needing this
% ]( Y  j7 P9 q, {* O$ _' ]day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
$ S* g, Z+ c4 @, i, m3 D7 U+ wprosperity and power as they seek to have a
/ }2 Z% n, r. ?. L0 @5 g2 u! q2 Ucloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!