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
6 `- |2 T7 p  F9 o% J! q" Xexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
9 z4 s4 `1 F( Y  rtheir church, it was very run down and needed
. f/ A! k4 {) p- Y. `9 n0 Rmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
" @9 c: J! \( q6 x2 e: [done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
6 D6 x2 ?: K* Ppainting, etc, and on December 18
4 g% r% P9 x1 }were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
3 M# ]( @* ?! X1 V2 ?O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
5 _6 [: u' r6 H+ T; Erainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
5 @3 M$ Q& x7 q  zleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
) @! j2 G: X  C# G" c: F6 C; b3 t20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
6 u9 e' w" V' }( _2 Xof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
5 o/ _# b% f' \and not knowing what else to do but postpone
) a: c  k6 ?' R7 c8 j: dthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
& p& n4 l% t/ c: v. I) ]On the way he noticed that a local business was
+ M8 X$ o+ l$ ?  N7 ^having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
( b; c6 }" c+ H; B7 B! v' @stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
$ n5 o  e( x, ]4 z+ Q3 g  S) Jembroidered 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
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
5 z( U3 G' B, [4 E' tinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

" \  w  F. z( p4 l- [# mShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
3 i$ A8 `' z2 z4 G: l6 E& j* w0 bwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
% t/ I# r# Y  I! k4 Gcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
+ _2 _3 |: I- CT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
  r) _# [- P5 ]the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
% ]8 z. K. H; {! ?! {it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
  q1 B. j6 W- x$ Kmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
3 {  @/ {, |" h/ c. f5 M2 @# {told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
7 N* L7 U0 H/ Q8 Wher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

# x+ ^) X% w' N, u, rWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
  I7 S- r! W' H7 o) s- c  T6 bhusband or her home again.
  Z6 S  A3 G* h) f; G, Q6 HT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
# J( E& I' c5 sThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
; [: z, n9 {* b& j7 S* t4 P) Cside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
' U& q7 m# W( ?8 `3 Q  \' E3 M3 X* D9 Sfor 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
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
4 m4 e2 T6 U0 q; E+ o) \9 t, `& H$ Xand many said that they would return..
; c, S' f# {$ l7 rOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
1 H& C/ Q3 s2 s" I: c! lfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
/ k! y" _) a( e, T! lpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
: G2 n9 S1 y- ^; uwasn't leaving.
* o1 N7 }# g1 s2 X+ TThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
2 {! `- y* t" t, }8 Athe front wall because it was identical to one
' S, f" f  S6 t. j. L0 l5 i4 d9 a' Vthat his wife had made years ago when
% x4 H6 Z  R1 u! a0 Uthey lived in Austria before the war and how
4 r+ k) ^  B+ d! G4 f/ x! S. ~could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H 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
  m. q: N) `: x6 h/ y8 {# {put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
# q$ ~2 c6 k0 J3 }5 k: E8 M/ Q# {! Xagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
! Z# P1 _% K, ]7 Otake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
3 }  n3 J# ]+ h/ h6 H" b, d5 o  Z. wIsland and to the same house where the pastor
& O; B/ t$ A6 b0 h* o& j8 U/ h6 ^had taken the woman three days earlier.
7 K( N% w7 |7 H! Z! b; DHe helped the man climb the three flights of
+ W' S- N6 v# n. g/ S$ {stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
/ M! S2 m- T. z+ }7 }) D6 x! Kreunion he could ever imagine.
% H7 @& H: E( o0 QT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
1 I; o* [. V( h  H5 M% g+ FI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
4 j' z0 K- s5 t/ f: w+ _7 walong your way. His love is always with you. His
$ q! h, w. U# A3 Q7 d4 S" H! T6 {% I: \promises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
6 A* h& F/ @% f( i: r3 OS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
) R9 h; V# H# Spraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
8 W0 E$ l- p& W: L) ^to those you want God to bless and remember
% U# v" z" a3 F+ b) t) G( hto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
/ f3 _5 @, c9 A, N. Xyou first.
* n- }4 S$ I# RW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
; i0 J' a% _: z6 r( Kyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
& n! c; i5 {, m; C9 C5 g) _seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
3 h( R/ Q& e. E  K$ eFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
3 G+ m" ^. ]3 _7 c1 I9 Y0 k. rever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
6 }/ i: `. u1 M, \% _) r- e9 h  vprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!