The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason

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  _; D6 B; P6 u: I6 A3 }& `3 f The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
/ a( I3 ]  o# w" `1 b8 mto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
  X+ w$ x- P0 j, S- p' |their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
, {1 {" ]# a" d1 F  N8 H9 yon Christmas Eve.
" k' {! B0 X2 r. ZT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
1 q/ R/ ?0 D8 u/ ]) G; t! O: `# W' Swere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
- H8 ~+ F$ J5 F- zO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
: O+ k5 l+ U$ F1 m/ Crainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
. Y2 O% _$ g/ u, T, g O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
" [, w, I$ Y& d9 U) D2 R" ZHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
1 Q$ J6 X# l& O4 j9 }  eleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
. t7 p- [/ i7 k20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
' c' O# h7 V, Uof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
& r) X6 n0 M# }, O- p5 Ibeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
4 e" V, ~3 d4 q( i  Hand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
3 U5 C- G9 Y9 @1 GOn 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,
* P" m6 f. _# `9 {+ L- @% _: Bhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
# Y( {9 L( a7 Y$ ]with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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4 p+ F9 b7 {9 t# Y( Bthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
) B0 s+ R2 ^2 D! r+ U7 \8 [B y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
/ J$ J6 C( @  |% ctrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
* w0 x! e! [' @1 }# [5 dinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

! x- _7 d. b  S6 `+ C9 |1 k; cShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
; ]( Y9 l- \$ N- ?while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
1 p# L5 Z, t8 Ecould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
% M6 f- z, Q! |! `6 mT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
: X- G) s2 f4 mshe 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
" t& F) @" B, ?( z  @it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
7 `% q1 F8 v& x% sT 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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; ~$ [5 K) u0 Q0 q& `  p! NWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
  O% D6 _1 R! J& |5 GHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
/ Q$ V* n" {1 |6 _He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
6 N* z8 W6 g8 h! M3 vT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
9 _5 l2 D  @" G, t3 M! E& CThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
0 r6 z. b' t- ]7 n1 c; B' K) eside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
8 X* H4 i* h0 Z& BW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
9 g6 i8 b' u* g* o3 D$ xEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
" e& ~" H2 v& A* R# i" l( e5 yspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
4 Y8 ^2 N/ @, t7 V7 |" V# Ipastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
/ T& S' `/ m! `& ]4 vand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
( {+ H: ~5 {% mwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
, f  d7 L5 O- R- W/ u7 Pthe front wall because it was identical to one
. i# y/ E" \% `" l+ t! g1 E9 tthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
2 r9 S0 Q. s# q  P  M1 R1 m# Ccould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
; d" T& T$ m5 _, _# E( {- C. SH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
- s6 ~* M0 |" c) Hforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
0 H1 L3 J+ v% t" L+ @8 Gput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
3 w8 Y) j$ Y9 C% c, U' _again all the 35 years between.
# z0 j1 B0 M' MT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
* K: E6 `0 K6 F- |& Otake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
8 G3 F; D. y3 q! d+ u0 h5 v: Mhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
+ R3 h  N$ C* m, S0 kthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
1 K! v, b% ?  tT 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
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
9 f- Q3 e) o0 ^1 T) j. ]% `- Ialong your way. His love is always with you. His
! h6 A0 ^- M+ y! B+ y5 Mpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
0 e2 s# l" q5 @S o when the road you're traveling seems
0 s. }9 n+ [8 P4 Bdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
1 {' z* [8 V, B4 j6 [to those you want God to bless and remember
. ?" r' a+ U: q4 t  x0 E( Z8 Cto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
& }# S9 Y2 w6 ^. qW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 n  e0 }& t# H  q& g4 bseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
3 v. a7 Z% W; F; j* Asay the following small prayer for the person
4 c5 r; Y) S* B, l0 O. Nwho sent this to you.
0 r8 {  e* I( ^Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
( h8 z' w; E5 n/ Z  D- gprosperity and power as they seek to have a
1 z( g5 |& z1 m$ ]& }5 s( Ucloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!