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
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
; N* d& N/ c; J3 iexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
7 @: N1 v5 s3 _; Ytheir church, it was very run down and needed
1 J4 m# \6 T' Amuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
; k+ p4 w# u( |were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
4 O1 y0 G7 ], w/ U( t9 v/ {rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
) T0 w( D: h* [# u* T O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
' ~" x1 R+ G( }leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
- E- n2 _  X- E4 j) vof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
! ~+ H* P) _9 y% g. E/ E1 Fbeginning about head high.
+ T: Q4 F' U' e  f) nT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
" ?% g* M5 ?3 h7 d# C! m7 yand not knowing what else to do but postpone
4 m; G& {) G' A' s8 jthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
+ h+ L  D/ F) k$ mOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
  H$ H1 ?8 W2 ihandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
+ `# Q5 c- b8 ywith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
2 Z/ O0 ?2 Q& O; i7 Lembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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8 o$ f" A8 B' m6 w

6 Q# ]- f6 S$ ~- T$ H1 q
) m/ w: A& U3 x" J: R( y+ l5 J
3 h; I& O5 V* |( _
" y( Z/ ~" q. p1 O) V" Lthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
! }' o5 m- h: W" F# C3 nB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
$ Z6 }2 d4 ^% w% |* H/ [; a4 ytrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
* U7 I! ~+ J: f& j1 Oinvited her to wait in the warm church for
6 M& W2 X- H) S2 R  S, `- ethe next bus 45 minutes later.
8 a3 D6 c; n5 D( y, r7 c
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
) m2 ?* Z, U& Iwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
2 s" o! V) m9 W# v! g$ s; T# a* qup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
  p8 V, m; J) F; o8 y# Y0 ncould 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,"
% p3 ^% \9 ~& f  z7 i: vshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
  ]2 i! j4 W3 V, w/ xThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it 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
/ S9 P% u7 m1 g+ G5 Q7 Bher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
6 R+ {" R2 U. v7 F
) z5 @7 M- ?! AWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
) M, F! z: S! a, gHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
# O% z3 _* W* R+ E/ y* Thusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
2 g- y2 \" _, L  ~: xbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
! {! {6 O; K/ u1 P; `! k) N. T9 ]was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
3 k5 W# H% d8 G" k2 v/ G) J# Sfor the day for a housecleaning job.
2 u. ?. V$ k- Q8 HW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
6 `0 F. G4 M$ K/ x  f' \- o* Hpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
& Y3 N: a/ ?5 P+ V: R( V4 d2 I9 JOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
. I/ y& S+ S9 i( U  S- Vpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
9 }! B* k9 J- M3 B  @The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
  @  C. Y8 X7 N- B+ ]6 lthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
. Y* ~, d1 s; s+ C0 Dcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
3 \9 @" i( L% dforced 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
) j6 a9 N4 N4 Magain all the 35 years between.
' P: H8 O/ Z' a& d8 {6 N& eT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
2 X" N' q# u4 F! ntake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
/ P4 q8 J5 m' T0 ?. OIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
" B* y. r+ [# i1 W+ E, p; I4 ?/ `He 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
9 D6 J0 e$ A' }who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
: p% C3 |1 ~5 Z0 e. M4 b! cyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
. @& L8 `$ o& C7 c; L! l1 F8 \5 O  |5 [promises 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
" B( ^0 W4 |; T) e: A0 }difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
8 E& a+ `$ I* c5 Lto those you want God to bless and remember
  U' m- e: ~6 b" S( f4 L# P2 Uto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
- @, K  i8 j+ G( u' T& b2 c" ^you 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
$ E, W8 w# _* w9 {" `- lwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
! F, C+ G3 |: v6 @. Eday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
  e/ e% k8 @5 P# Zprosperity and power as they seek to have a
! L2 h5 F3 Z, q$ T# ~7 pcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!