The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
( G; b. H, n9 a# A, d2 o& f7 }
* @+ h) T/ L: T2 `% B

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
: l8 H% r) y6 ?1 q0 C& Gin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
3 z1 `' u9 Z) k) E' `: Oexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
6 T- k# Z4 D( q" E! `7 z5 ptheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
9 y# v9 v. U9 k$ M3 Y) p4 `done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
, G6 y+ {2 V+ e  v7 g- Mpainting, etc, and on December 18
8 \, ]* L+ @0 T8 F: r/ Dwere 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.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
2 ^# M6 U% u0 D: t" d* p) W! J20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
- q% u" }$ a; a( ^' d% UT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
, E7 d1 f/ x+ g, d  |* C' ?and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
. W  Z7 M' I6 }8 z5 E/ ?On 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,
% ]& I  X+ }' }% S) shandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  



- Z& G  A- p5 w& A, B1 q

# ^* E( u9 x6 k
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
& `$ h( a6 g6 h( c" x7 d3 ninvited her to wait in the warm church for
: y( X1 n2 \: Uthe next bus 45 minutes later.
) _2 f) H: e8 L. X& a- B) e
0 [9 T4 J# o. ?2 V4 R' {, G" u) g% W) aShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
8 I, k2 z% I* k9 K/ b) b0 e. Tup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
! [! r4 h4 g) d4 Y! D5 {# daisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
' S1 F/ `, c, K% [8 U+ P% Fshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The 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
7 ?2 S/ p$ D0 S) g1 b! mwoman explained that before the war she and
+ F4 J8 {( ^8 q5 _5 p. Yher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
# z, ]) e. W5 z4 w2 e
7 c" ]/ j7 x: pWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
! n2 H: H4 x- f, M0 A- LHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
/ y9 p2 n! {4 Q* `$ |0 n- H# }. bT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 S) y' v$ z/ v2 X% Zbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
, U. C8 w5 y; ?+ C7 g/ Mwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
6 l7 R9 p- Y" z4 H% D2 yside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
& L7 `) M# z% U& B* s0 a/ S8 ofor 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
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
8 U- J7 E" O5 c" o$ tfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
; I6 u6 ^, \; R* D4 K( qThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the 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
& u6 S7 n: _' k6 O" N- W  Icould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
; r4 ^; w3 K3 d/ K& J6 p) eH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
3 V1 P, F$ @% H4 cforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
3 `( ]. `' |9 y* n+ Qput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
* G2 J! F* Q/ [6 N% l$ g5 v& IT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
" U! Y- h% G% j) o/ mtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
" ]! ]$ U$ s3 L! B% z4 Hhad taken the woman three days earlier.
  t" j' C. w6 P. M- [He helped the man climb the three flights of
, m: y/ V% i; N: o+ t( x8 |, Qstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
4 v; L5 |) w* i" X+ I) c/ O- yreunion he could ever imagine.
2 H9 H% s& i4 W6 F1 qT 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
7 B" l8 V2 Y+ N$ k6 b6 Yyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
+ y) m1 D1 H$ F4 H' B9 O$ Falong your way. His love is always with you. His
9 ?( ~9 X3 Y0 O0 Upromises are true, and when we give Him all our
7 L9 a. D- T$ ycares we know He will see us through.
/ t. a- R8 M+ |3 N( }S o when the road you're traveling seems
; [! Y# a: s$ a7 Gdifficult 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
* z( O7 U- J% [: ~& Tto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
& r, l3 R( n( Kyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
- V. B8 K, S3 Vseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
. D, s7 y; N. T, Ssay the following small prayer for the person
1 G4 _, j9 w3 d0 ~: jwho sent this to you.
& y8 d" b2 Y, u+ m- f& QFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
1 _3 N  A2 ~2 m/ sever it is that You know they may be needing this
1 I% T  h% M* t6 ?1 ]) nday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
# u8 P) I2 z- T' Q; J4 K- Aprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!