The Tablecloth

propeller

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

8 Q" [+ r. n! H$ e

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
- T2 P' G  C0 `' ?; d! uin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
1 z. l* z% y6 Y' \excited about their opportunities. When they saw
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
on Christmas Eve.
1 X6 n8 g9 L8 `  X! C& q& _( DT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
- D/ {# A' A% j. y1 ~$ BO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm 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
+ k, {& T5 w; u20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
0 S  V, S) F% X6 U- O. ~7 Cof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
% N% y" @" k/ }. B% @  f: o1 {beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
# N7 |/ b6 x1 B$ ]and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
" M% {4 \+ Q0 }# z" n( j& uOn the way he noticed that a local business was
$ f- C7 H( [. H) @. i, _5 vhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
5 I, e+ C$ \* D  b: ~handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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& |1 B9 a% u7 a3 o8 @, i' _2 Q
7 N) ^2 M! P- L$ b
. {* y; u& U# M; K8 a  X; p- d1 T3 b
the 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
6 ]. H& ]/ B8 U! B% Hwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
5 P& u- g$ R* U( P/ G" yinvited her to wait in the warm church for
& d- R& g) R" N* ?+ Kthe next bus 45 minutes later.
- q' Y' N) j- p4 s; W) _
1 I, a0 i; @6 y1 f6 {' ~; FShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
3 y6 e  T# `0 F) D0 }; o6 X" `2 i+ twhile 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.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
( J! b1 o' D* Z8 I1 yshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
# z: X% e9 H0 S1 IThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
5 z* ]; n) c) c+ a  Wthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
1 R9 N0 H  ]9 u5 a# Dit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
  T' s) t; O2 m6 D" Gmade 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
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
" w- Q$ }! J. m0 k/ y
, q$ V7 _- J4 DWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
9 @1 L" ?. ^3 n! k9 y3 R9 ^Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
7 V* f3 L7 y# o4 Y, P( k. X% E. B. vHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
3 k( F5 O4 H  Dhusband or her home again.
2 \+ t, X* _+ v; J& D. ~  }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
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
/ z8 Z" j0 a3 S8 u. h: e) nside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
% l- m, k) ^  ^# ^; A- xEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
8 R! f( m5 I7 R1 W; Y$ tspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
4 `, G" K" I% j+ z* f1 i; m% Npastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
: b! ?9 B, T/ W' c" g- }0 p: KOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
* S: V; M9 U/ x/ n" ^from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
) @  L! y4 z" \' h& L' C. Vwasn't leaving.
0 x; x1 Y5 e1 N8 I: {) `The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
9 M, I+ ^" P( f. S: L! h' P! ]the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
1 y1 X: R2 v- @: s* E1 uthey 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
$ X# ]& v- l/ [supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
# Z3 f5 F$ j' }  F, I. cput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
# I( Z" ?) X" {+ i. O; ^again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
  \5 L9 B7 l& ^' ]: p0 Atake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
$ I/ ^2 Q# d5 \0 g) a- p3 KIsland and to the same house where the pastor
  E* P" e; g/ x4 n  Q+ R0 {. N2 }had taken the woman three days earlier.
! N) [' e  J7 }, t9 dHe helped the man climb the three flights of
" f! e8 K2 d# X+ K% ^- [" Ustairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
" L; G0 E' x; O* q: Treunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
7 C+ _2 m' M& `" ]( z( r- ~who says God does work in mysterious ways.
3 n5 w/ C  E( P) T) iI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
5 v# J+ e# G2 w! qyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
! R, v1 d8 \  }) ~" m# Rpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
+ d% T4 \, _% D3 R. K1 _cares we know He will see us through.
: F- t, g2 n; w8 u, nS o when the road you're traveling seems
9 ?5 n# b- H! q* s7 bdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
1 I4 q8 l- I$ y, i% r' Ito send it back to the one who asked God to bless
. T9 B$ f. k1 d9 z. }* o9 gyou first.
$ c% a% w/ m/ x7 H3 TW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds 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
$ n9 ?9 {8 \/ j1 F6 }0 L  \- kever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! 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!