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
' e# W0 j$ F* S  @to their first ministry, to reopen a church
% j  V8 c4 y( Y$ T# kin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
, B5 ]- F. m- f  C& K' `  ]% ~8 Nexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
9 T. ?# F, B' u7 ?# Ymuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
7 i; b0 k/ k8 O7 o0 fon Christmas Eve.
& n* A+ \, H; @( s7 w( r' U% PT 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
' P. Q8 l* q- B# H2 Brainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
. J6 D. F5 y2 S  w4 S/ N O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
$ |) Y0 j& T$ R1 h; {2 D4 M' A/ eleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
* A3 B( m! E6 ^) B; t4 d, Cbeginning about head high.
$ Y0 R4 g  Q9 }. l, fT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
) C2 P0 |$ p+ M  j" o9 U1 p* ~1 xthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
. R( \) N: U8 b2 }having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
; z( Z) q- {, zhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
7 M) h/ H1 f, `" J9 H& V) S5 [with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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* o4 Y# R; d! A* l* ], e8 l! wthe 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
- C+ \  u9 R/ l$ d9 G' Z" uwoman running from the opposite direction was
5 f' V: `6 A0 Dtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited 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
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
- P+ D; s* u4 ~7 J8 W1 ]up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
& \0 [4 K4 x' N+ A1 d, y4 Jcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
2 g0 d- @/ s5 K! J5 S+ x: D. `/ z8 [T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
( C+ V9 A5 g4 }/ l9 T( Y! Yshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
! p4 X7 G% \, d8 h5 }" o* Ythe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
: y$ H( D) S- Xit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made 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
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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/ `4 q8 p& b8 |7 }; F( AWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
& t# B9 A. o: H0 ?3 qHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
2 J1 Y  {! x5 B0 z4 |  p4 hHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
. x! M( w6 |% g) \( Ohusband or her home again.
+ I9 }$ d- ?  v2 g  k/ U5 W1 eT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
* P" z* Z  R' A2 z" O8 t9 AThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
5 T3 b7 Y. H2 X3 v& Pwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
% i$ [, i( S! R! K, S7 lfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
6 P8 f0 W# j9 f% v' s; g: r6 tEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
+ J/ A0 p( |% W* Q/ ~; A. S- }2 qspirit 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..
- w6 [5 \  T6 _, iOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
1 e. ^* _4 f6 G$ Spews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
2 z8 p( C+ z4 x7 p9 ]2 e2 d& c5 u% fthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
9 X. m0 J2 n& F' _& I4 d0 lthey lived in Austria before the war and how
% @% ]) z1 z. m% H( Rcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
6 n1 p- Y, [0 V1 I& \forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
$ n# n- i% _. {0 hsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
2 T) R. J& J3 J6 fput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
. r7 \1 }/ A+ T& oagain all the 35 years between.
7 ?' a; ?" p: v8 ~& l4 l9 {, FT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
8 h4 t% r  m' ]) Xtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
" [& S# O; N6 D, t2 h( nIsland and to the same house where the pastor
3 \" [2 z  D4 f, A, lhad taken the woman three days earlier.
8 f$ ~- [* h2 K0 r+ r# ?1 kHe helped the man climb the three flights of
) n/ m* `6 M8 Y- ~* {/ _' Jstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
3 d- l& Y1 D/ w+ l' l9 E) K' D' Breunion he could ever imagine.
: P# g) E, p" q, h; s8 \% wT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
# }7 C0 G' z* L5 p& Iwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
' v' i, j, I( o) C1 ~I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
5 F/ `. J( ^. h3 x8 E7 Malong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
$ \8 C! \$ N" K3 E. S* f% ncares we know He will see us through.
3 Y5 v5 D1 ?" K# [8 m6 N3 v9 s6 qS o when the road you're traveling seems
1 J6 X$ X7 m6 s: A+ a3 x) |difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
. Z' P: {9 H* h( v! Uto those you want God to bless and remember
* l' [9 q7 |( v/ z7 ]: x1 s% cto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
. M0 r& X4 k0 jyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
- Q4 `' k' m8 Y% h4 f0 Cyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
0 `! T( u0 j- J. S5 Bsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
* I4 @: U+ o# i! ZFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
1 l* }' P5 c6 Q, rever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
/ G& l/ q% v  M* V# o/ T" O% D5 s6 iprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!