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
' X9 j6 k, H2 fto their first ministry, to reopen a church
0 q7 K. U& B2 Yin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
1 N3 g; F4 @) |$ C" `( c4 ^excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
+ w" {1 o) D' Z7 c+ S4 C. P; Amuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
1 h4 L4 Y' [& E  C9 HT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
/ y; _, N7 ^1 o" ~9 W% H" Rpainting, etc, and on December 18
9 w7 O7 K7 k: m5 q* ^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.
2 P/ Z/ f" R7 E2 Y0 @' S5 X4 W( ]0 V O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
* o: x' s- x" [+ r% ]; CHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
1 e3 E, C. G1 Jleaked, 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,
beginning about head high.
! N) G  B! I) f. S( bT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
- b3 m+ A: F; ^  Eand not knowing what else to do but postpone
5 h7 W& n& V0 f) T) F# Y( _the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
$ z* V1 }+ M! L, A. Y1 Q) mOn the way he noticed that a local business was
- b; J% m) g. C1 x/ |having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
; J5 N4 S' m" _6 C. mwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
# k1 L) \: R# G" Wembroidered 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.
& U# S* z9 [1 n8 r! j' Z0 lB y this time it had started to snow. An older
# G0 Z. H* b/ b" bwoman running from the opposite direction was
6 f/ O2 H- D$ I$ R( i0 mtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
5 O+ J8 f/ t9 e" Rthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
5 G& q& u5 A9 }; fwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
: p4 t( l$ Y3 j& ], S! c" wcould 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,"
, x8 ^( c. z/ M, F9 ushe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
* L/ _' B8 R6 E* \8 Uthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
0 c/ f/ q7 h& }1 z5 s2 E  T' Qit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
5 D* \6 Y8 \% u1 C, S- Emade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
# ]6 ]% {/ R  B3 |  f- ]T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
6 \% m* O& R4 [8 r5 \; X& ~told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
2 L* D& C" L" t7 _' t2 Wwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
7 ~2 A/ d  p; a7 O* ~Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
. P; D' S. P" o5 m5 t2 ~He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
: v0 g. C/ u- B# s, bbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
+ n; z! f* c9 q3 u- ], r. y1 F0 bThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
1 a' Z9 E8 }( q/ \- T8 Bwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
2 m/ z/ g( M8 C. I  q) u5 A- d( oside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
/ Q  p6 ^; P3 pfor 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
4 |! |/ m1 K. j( Ispirit 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..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
+ M5 H) Z4 ?3 k2 Q& dpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
; [  p% m! t7 J! Y4 Q* l# yThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
, Q, Q9 S9 ?6 R% }# b: tthe 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?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
1 t* l( F* e6 E6 Z3 Aforced 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
# C$ c3 e2 j# v2 u/ b3 tagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
2 ?2 y9 G# L9 u/ P" j5 _  S2 Btake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
( T( a) D8 R- C9 w5 T, xhad taken the woman three days earlier.
0 o# G, j2 C0 T* c, v1 \" {He helped the man climb the three flights of
! K- S9 l3 T" ?) [! ustairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
: [' w! m# [8 f- X+ |% F, othe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
" F1 [  i9 I& N& w2 F# yT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
( K( W! Q. e+ u6 `5 q' ^who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
4 A, l! n, D) u# h4 M# M- M; Hpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
- G3 k6 T" k' O( K6 b7 x# G3 @cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
5 L9 X* E, x3 P" z, h6 @" kto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
( a; W. O3 C3 N4 Xyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 ^( d6 D5 w- ]seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
  G0 [7 I5 D/ q$ Vever it is that You know they may be needing this
  S3 U$ E2 A* I! ]: X! w$ sday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
; T' J, P- ]; g; u1 fcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!