The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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* h8 l( n% j. X8 j2 X  i6 ]  R The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
7 I& G; [. U( q( s. O9 Mto their first ministry, to reopen a church
% z. t& V9 T5 i, L3 H# L) ^in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
& q2 N8 p" ?3 b. k1 G1 W6 Vmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
2 }! n$ Q% V/ L) R7 AT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
% L) d1 I( E* ?8 z. Rpainting, etc, and on December 18
5 z* q- Z0 m8 I) J7 {* rwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
8 S+ O& c* P, N8 [4 Q5 ]! Jrainstorm 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
9 c9 y' U0 Y  ?) I/ Zleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
" @+ _; |' M7 T) R. K. ~! nof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
6 c( A0 k, W% B# A: _% Obeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
) R1 f7 U2 R! M1 ]; i( q# U( M9 @and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
: K9 \; g) F5 ]9 XOn the way he noticed that a local business was
9 k3 A. j% N4 P: Qhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
( Y6 O* T3 f- T5 A0 Cstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
) p4 M& J) s2 M) I* S* r2 lwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
/ M: @5 e! O8 v) e0 Z0 x' ^/ D  membroidered 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.
3 D1 `" _! \# UB 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
invited her to wait in the warm church for
% [+ L/ t% z/ p% j4 Lthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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+ x# J6 g) j' R$ y1 \/ d$ rShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
" E+ s/ h2 K) `+ W* V* qT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
- f) Y7 t6 [/ x& b$ ^aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
* R8 E, g* Z2 Cshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
/ T% p* Q5 A) @1 |+ H$ `& GThe 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
2 \1 P3 `3 e( M2 Umade 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
4 }( h; T+ [" Y) g) b/ D( Kwoman explained that before the war she and
' k$ y' _7 c- G  H! S4 aher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

3 |5 s( D" o, x% FWhen 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
4 H. Y/ }. m( h- [, C7 `husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
9 j& j. {. ~# m, UThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
3 E  b2 o% e5 t( q& g; Jfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
4 k; u, r- N: g' t6 aEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
( O- y3 i. {5 Vspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
5 J: }+ }: ]0 u& t& ^, u0 U# pand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
' m+ V8 G0 a4 Y& W& A* H- vpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
! e5 H5 A9 K( t; l' Fwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
7 g- |0 G6 ^# H7 A' h/ Sthe front wall because it was identical to one
. O# O# w) ?! v1 vthat his wife had made years ago when
+ R  l6 W$ B0 Q2 h3 Vthey lived in Austria before the war and how
/ }' m' k! v$ E) x" m" R! v7 Pcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
( W( F. _! k$ Y4 {forced 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
again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
, H0 O5 e/ v: m' Z* b4 ghad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
8 H/ H* J3 V9 ~; Xthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
+ w! \' I/ Y; V5 ~' ?5 l# HI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
8 p& Q) W3 Y* L* P5 Palong your way. His love is always with you. His
: E$ l6 P& C$ [promises are true, and when we give Him all our
8 [. W( M; m; I$ G, ^( D# a+ Zcares we know He will see us through.
9 p6 w1 U8 g+ X. ?S o when the road you're traveling seems
4 t9 A) ?" V4 O+ ?3 x( }6 h' @difficult at best, just remember I'm here
: x% `( J, A: U% v2 Dpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
( i! o$ o! B9 y3 @you first.
0 F3 i1 @' d9 Q6 V. _" oW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
4 a5 w6 _4 U) T8 p2 ^* f8 Cyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
4 o/ |' v! C3 L0 asay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
" c3 X1 U1 @6 p! X0 CFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
4 o6 f; P  Z, _! r+ s# Mever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
0 ]& U) Z9 w9 v5 x4 F, _prosperity and power as they seek to have a
9 }8 ~0 i0 @+ A* G! `) jcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!