The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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- ~0 K) }) E2 N1 X/ |5 X0 ^+ A: e The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
+ z" k% _( |, s8 Otheir church, it was very run down and needed
) @9 `/ O( s' `$ `% U/ Nmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
- x/ C9 O0 P3 con Christmas Eve.
6 T/ Z2 I" U) g# ?T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
: {' w, A- ~$ X8 F$ s( dpainting, etc, and on December 18
; v1 C( x# u" O8 H' H) cwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
+ J7 ~$ O! c, L' |! \8 Zrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
+ G, H- }3 c+ ~. i6 @* Q6 P2 V6 w 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
$ M' [+ T7 h5 ~4 [# z20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
8 q5 G7 t$ e7 b# L# j3 {of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
( p+ }- L& h7 [/ S3 ?3 p7 @T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
" z2 T& h8 i+ _% C( n$ D% o. ]9 ^the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
" {, l* X" M# p2 @5 F8 R5 `having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
( h9 v4 P  _$ f3 Qhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
7 H6 x9 o8 v6 P8 L1 Fwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered 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.
! |* |& y; U* A% @/ I* c; X! O5 UB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
# \# _5 W* F. n2 D/ ?trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
; }; c* C! C$ |! l6 qinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

* ?3 Z) \3 z) w: c, eShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
3 R  X, x' D/ K1 N; h# [% uup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
3 j: s! q/ Y! a" Q' C$ Ocould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
5 J9 B$ K9 }4 m( \& jT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
# m# z# a6 G( g2 vaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
0 k% j: f7 ?1 h) q) G6 Ishe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
) y% u: O  Z' a# F8 ?the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
8 a0 p( q, F1 L) Iit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
6 ^  f# G3 D0 g8 ^( J: D  {6 omade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
( h3 E; ^9 O0 k1 q. b& TT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
; l( v7 V+ j5 q# s! \- V$ Q# htold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
; k1 O) N: I; o' E- B% ^woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

3 {' X0 q" e4 g5 ]+ A3 vWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
6 b' {" k8 \5 `Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
8 s% M! T2 {7 @T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
% v8 `) l% ~, I% k. QThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
8 v+ K0 a- ~, ]" m5 Q# x1 w& o  Rside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
( W0 p* V' n( F7 E* I, X6 Afor the day for a housecleaning job.
2 s: k! G! n. j; \; eW 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
2 i( `2 y+ \* w2 Gpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
3 ]  t7 _( j, I' N( L7 A0 gand many said that they would return..
' G! }" }1 {  w5 s4 w3 aOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
  v. K* [! I1 I( j' o  [from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
8 g' N; ]9 u; e* ~3 AThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
2 a. f* _* Q1 jthe front wall because it was identical to one
+ q$ Y) p- y6 ~! ?; |8 g' X( fthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
6 d' S: Y  Q4 wcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
, F2 L3 d; w  A2 yH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
( R* G- u. p! d8 Q. G  [! y* \forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
/ H9 N: n/ ~, Sput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
& E, W; Z7 N! y- fagain 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
3 @# a, N; E  H" |' d% cIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
* B" q6 s/ j/ y8 b  i9 H& w' |  u5 SHe helped the man climb the three flights of
9 V7 V7 r2 n: X; ?8 _8 O6 |stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
4 N0 `' ]5 Z4 E6 Mthe 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.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
0 ^$ |2 h8 C* q2 I" Ipromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
/ N& d9 j: |4 F) J' W4 ]) ?S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
, `0 \9 B* A' w, [$ M& npraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
8 M! z( A! w" }7 z- X3 b9 u" @to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
! ^( r1 O9 k+ J4 p1 M9 Sseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
$ B2 r- [, p5 Y) A6 u: I+ Cever it is that You know they may be needing this
( z8 `( r! Q7 w, ~day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
* M6 c( z3 h& Wcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!