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
. z5 {7 ^9 }, B0 Jto their first ministry, to reopen a church
! {; h* U) r5 C8 n; p8 Lin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
7 f/ n+ a5 W7 Qexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
7 f. _5 u* k2 z% m  d4 ftheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
. E  S# M0 T& p, d$ B7 Adone in time to have their first service
: b, v' L- e6 C; m6 J1 gon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
1 ^5 R9 d  U1 B% L6 O: U: B) jpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
; w2 L* c8 ?! \# LO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
" Y* ]- c% {0 b! x9 Prainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
; h: u  P! O% O8 \- D' u; ~" C O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
. d; q' m( S6 j% n. R* _2 o; [His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
7 w9 P7 h0 V; t4 N" ]$ hbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
& r6 S& [( s( ^' s# r  t' iand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
! t6 ^2 F6 X! Z3 n  v0 oOn 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,
; C. M; a# p% M2 a( Rhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  


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- ~" L3 j6 n- othe 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
8 t; H8 k6 f3 w6 p; ^woman running from the opposite direction was
3 Z+ I9 J9 K3 U& s* l$ b: K3 {$ G" Ctrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
8 ?+ h" F5 ~- e* a) K; o! cthe next bus 45 minutes later.

6 [( o5 g$ D7 ]1 A1 d# V1 TShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
# n' t% a* I$ X  E1 Y$ b& Wup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
  ]) `  J5 v" T% G. P5 O5 ccould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
7 K' @5 v0 H, k( x. Daisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
7 q- D8 {2 |/ p. n2 kshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
8 n5 m) O" C# X5 r9 Hthe 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
8 W" }$ F0 W, \0 t9 n+ V( g. \made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
" G0 d# A8 m. J; tT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
4 u- e' l) N- C( J& ^) ctold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
' i9 C* ?4 d6 K7 H/ [9 pwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

6 i0 Z/ a3 k5 g. B5 ]When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
. X& Q6 `( B/ B" g  z% q2 }/ x1 PHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
. j9 I0 q1 O2 z' f6 b, |He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
* h$ m% Y% d, P! }+ ]1 \husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
- g& g2 T  f$ s8 f6 @but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ z1 W) q) {" f7 cwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
8 o+ l, u0 G0 W3 E# p9 F, z" B6 {3 S- dW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
$ l# S/ O" }  W/ ]Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
0 N/ w" D  T$ e* [spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
% F6 y6 I& p) T8 ipastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
: [' _6 w2 j0 t& C- M7 ]and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
1 N9 V. o& L/ z. v6 X% x  e: ifrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
+ i- p0 s- h1 v9 t$ e2 H: ppews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
' A% p0 I! E! y' H( _0 d  Ywasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
! c$ n, ?2 O: k( l& jthat his wife had made years ago when
- b% r* T9 y$ w9 pthey lived in Austria before the war and how
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
& R! H" D& p$ `$ _( z9 E7 F5 Osupposed 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.
. B9 n( B; w8 Y: z8 r( {( FT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
+ k: M% C7 h+ E; ?+ X" t* Xtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
, Z, @! X* p2 H( Y8 uIsland and to the same house where the pastor
$ [# _" n, e0 Y8 ^8 K1 ~- ahad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
. m# m" U' U% h1 y( \, |the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
6 i  V6 s2 s. h, XT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
' g1 H: [/ w! i. T& v+ {who says God does work in mysterious ways.
" n2 g/ t# A7 H3 o5 K: LI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
7 I5 E8 h3 _3 L/ B2 M3 H( G5 H( Uyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
, M* M$ {: Y2 E4 x3 g, Jpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
) s8 Q3 Y5 N$ \4 x4 f% U8 |cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
3 c' Q5 f# v$ f: g" Q8 x/ Gdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
  O; w( k& S, w4 R8 u' Rpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
! f# ]' r' f) gto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
$ K- m' d1 Q: W1 T; D- ^W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
4 u) ^$ s4 ?' J7 ]seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
$ w$ e* ?/ s6 N2 w; g1 G; Ysay the following small prayer for the person
/ T7 X0 @. h  [0 Uwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
0 U" p; X! R9 V; Dever it is that You know they may be needing this
3 o- |0 F4 b  q* }1 S* M5 k, Zday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
/ i- \' j! T0 Q0 S% Q* sprosperity and power as they seek to have a
: ?% s; W) _0 t2 t5 E" U5 T9 X1 Q  Lcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!