The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
. r) k: D) Z6 e- Fto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
/ W5 {) d6 j" J% D$ d1 W, b5 Dtheir church, it was very run down and needed
9 }2 g# E  W3 P0 imuch work. They set a goal to have everything
5 Q, j) I" w4 d. ^$ i& X8 adone in time to have their first service
/ y! [4 W1 U6 m2 S* m( q( P6 ron Christmas Eve.
4 T1 M" q6 B+ F7 fT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were 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.
9 ]% Y6 ]. c/ C% U: @' O) K& Z O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
, s0 _3 U7 G: [, {! `# T8 c/ N& Pleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
) i3 r2 h+ U' S; B9 l; _7 q4 g, a20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
  d2 Z% |; \5 D# B2 ^8 w* L" q, wof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
- o9 t0 @$ U9 l+ I% A  {beginning about head high.
. F1 x8 B! l$ K- g. cT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
' t+ ?  j% T0 Wthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
& I1 h7 _8 s# `: gOn the way he noticed that a local business was
% K+ V& S! |' D# Z( Ahaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
( ~% M) x: j7 }handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
" S7 k9 D! u$ ^) hembroidered 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.
B y this time it had started to snow. An older
/ F* J8 k& w5 ewoman running from the opposite direction was
  j6 {2 M" ^- J9 o$ L  u6 u! \% Ctrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
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
' B. K0 W& _' ^. J$ r" Z5 [while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
7 ]! c, h6 Y! d5 o6 jup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
1 w3 V+ u; S, E4 K1 B8 zcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
/ S- L& \* m. @/ s/ e1 ?: Q8 saisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
7 w" E3 f* H0 q" p$ [0 b2 ]  U) xshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
+ q4 E1 q% ?+ \, M- Ythe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
* ]6 X! T- u$ Uit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
# h( X+ H5 E. m* \made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
. v! B# F) a& M. |' c3 O- pT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
& e2 K7 x- V  c, twoman explained that before the war she and
* ]3 X0 C  D9 gher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
8 h8 p+ w: x0 y9 z/ V7 hHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
& [/ F) r. X" M  H' G- |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
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
& j6 x3 [% p5 L4 a& m* T  U! Kside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
2 ~4 k& A  A* mW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
7 s: d' l" S/ K3 Z4 k! Pspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
  k( F$ s& T! n2 G- a  E6 S5 jand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
" p/ X% o7 f9 L1 ]pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
+ d& j" s8 C; t5 N. ythat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
1 D3 i! h7 N' s& F$ y, b4 p* J9 B/ Scould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
1 Q6 a! e- L6 p' JH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
0 X/ _$ n! L2 vput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
- D' {) F% ]$ J1 ?% {" W. Xagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
* ?! {# p) j( J/ B9 Htake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
0 L2 y8 W- N: e( |  S# Xhad taken the woman three days earlier.
2 ^. C& I# P) ~6 s. ~* eHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
% Q$ H! F' B: Ithe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
3 o$ [  F3 ~5 I4 a! d, u" B& p3 Lreunion 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
. `& B* O$ N8 ~& Z: J& v9 ?* Uyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
: T4 C+ k* z/ d5 U) O  Hcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
& R1 z, }- h+ a: udifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
; N, l* l; C+ Lto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
# M6 J( H+ t0 x. O! w- H" Uyou first.
9 Q, t/ P, m  X; _7 h/ X( p+ OW 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
% f. O) e( I, n( Ksay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
0 W7 X; v% k/ e# \% E$ w+ j0 Pever it is that You know they may be needing this
, @. F# D/ `0 T' k7 Cday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
3 O- S/ S) P9 e$ S, V, e* jprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!