The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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; b6 \+ Q# T7 c" _3 Y: a! t$ ^ 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
their church, it was very run down and needed
0 u$ V" N; D/ u$ \much work. They set a goal to have everything
$ r& d' L3 y2 x4 ^7 M) Mdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
) |1 |0 A4 F+ }3 ]% rT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
8 p8 X: x8 Z2 C- Wwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
( [. j9 A0 n& G: s. arainstorm 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
  P6 C) _% ?+ Z3 I4 |3 p20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& p# u2 P& q; u* ?& r6 D, hof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
( `  o0 w. Y9 T) C/ Dbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
9 @! g: k! D+ w: Lthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
6 U* Q' b# g, f1 Y8 `- F3 Whaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
7 o1 S: ~1 h$ j% z3 y7 C6 S! Kwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
; C/ Z: Y7 ^9 [4 N, rembroidered right in the center. It was just  
+ {. x( |3 _- k8 u/ n8 ]




* Q0 e; ?, U8 p
" K0 a# C! U  Z- I) pthe 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
* T, p$ w' C9 ]* \3 Ztrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
5 q: }4 j" N: b" Pthe next bus 45 minutes later.
9 m7 L3 \" p, i
5 j6 P( X, [9 e) P" I) RShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
3 r* W; Q5 k' }! {4 nup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
) U2 t. _+ V7 c/ ]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
+ ^: V( o2 T* O4 Yaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
2 O1 E- @0 O9 }  z2 @she 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
: n& [7 y. R5 k. v' j, N. y( Oit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
3 [9 w" ~+ |, J3 Rmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
0 t4 {! P% `' C; G2 [T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
) r' w2 X$ Y6 swoman explained that before the war she and
$ D; o4 l2 T; }5 A) \her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
, v+ h/ i* J- G9 @  nHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
5 b1 G- b) c: ~9 rHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
3 A9 j: h5 H3 P; @$ Ehusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
* e3 h$ `" a* s0 F) Z  z* R) O3 ?was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
3 [. t9 v% ^5 Z0 ~' _for the day for a housecleaning job.
" q; P0 p+ h! V4 _  y+ _) t0 v4 IW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
: ^4 E( I( U3 Y- H6 ?; J0 cspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
5 B/ y3 u: w" z* Q! J7 ~$ ypastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
( q% v; ]- m; y, s% UOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
* U( K  p5 _( p8 \# Kpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
' F0 n- ^7 P1 W! Ithat his wife had made years ago when
  Q/ [0 _8 K: o& }they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
7 a8 _& A* y: qH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
6 X6 H4 z% u& u: a( Oforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
2 X9 ]" m+ E* a) aput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
+ E( f) X$ c! Z1 NT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
5 }. Z& q$ r. P/ \2 {take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
* s! o2 ?+ F: t/ [+ \( A! Hhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
; O3 j( n; v0 {0 N2 N% ^, sstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
& j( E  R  A  |8 p* O2 X9 ]: Z7 qT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
2 e3 k6 b% U8 @* s6 \3 O. GI 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
5 r8 P4 i/ \: |$ Epromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
$ q. k- _4 o8 Z9 H$ a# C* P7 dpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
: r& w2 M/ ~5 W  s( ^8 Rto those you want God to bless and remember
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
0 u* v6 L4 ]& `: L+ pseconds 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
4 O2 ?9 U1 v: O9 Wever it is that You know they may be needing this
5 T* |0 T# Z' M# |5 lday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!