The Tablecloth

propeller

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



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
- w: f& s+ x' `7 omuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
% ^3 E6 t! s6 K9 lon Christmas Eve.
. n8 J' ~, n6 A6 A  v. P6 D# S3 JT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
* F- O1 i5 f( _. O1 ^6 A4 Jpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
0 m6 j# P! d  t5 }3 {/ Nrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
6 F9 V# K% q2 @, G0 _2 d0 D O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
* D- J7 L% f, e7 ^. ]9 r6 _leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
6 B3 a6 p6 a, L; n/ d0 s20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
5 B& Z/ K4 @+ Y0 K5 `of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
; [) I0 ]# c. R7 \) G6 H; V7 ]and not knowing what else to do but postpone
3 E. K# c) K$ ]( y& ?) g  mthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
: s, ?9 V6 _1 b2 g9 R( ahaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
: e) a1 Z: p" F( K7 Hwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
$ m% j! n& R$ g. c# aembroidered right in the center. It was just  
$ F1 C& p1 i/ X5 e& B; W
! o! U4 z3 Z; p7 B. v: Q# K& D* a



0 P- E3 a0 v  I
+ c0 i8 {" U- }( h* W- f6 ~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
woman running from the opposite direction was
7 F0 r# h" T" |9 }0 y: Gtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
6 ~9 J8 A! C1 o+ H( d) R: h0 Cthe next bus 45 minutes later.

She 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
0 |) I- G, E; J; ~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,"
' `& {% Q. {! K* w' H! k: M  ushe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
. u) a' F& C  xthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
- k1 o9 K: k7 B1 h: hit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
; U: h# D) f* H% x" ^made 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
! L2 z9 X$ r$ j0 G4 Dwoman explained that before the war she and
) T0 a4 s& z5 t! I7 _her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
6 L2 i* |# g' M+ C. _) L
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
2 c  P. Z: Y# j) y! KHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
6 ?/ V8 Q$ P  M9 X# ~He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
, T  T+ f/ T" W; h9 `2 k7 n4 ohusband or her home again.
9 E8 i1 v& m5 pT 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
6 ]  b+ B7 e7 o* w8 f5 |8 owas the least he could do. She lived on the other
  w/ w( v2 s$ y. aside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
4 Q6 @- F$ W' _' _( X  r* }for the day for a housecleaning job.
W 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
: H9 F# o& Q8 s9 L$ Fpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
3 }# {, L  Y; L( _from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
' Q# B9 j  c4 P8 }% {& B# `0 \pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
# z& F  y" [/ L+ k; oThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
& M8 w  P5 H6 zthe front wall because it was identical to one
5 A, F$ W1 t4 D& U, ~that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
, d& N$ R) z0 m) X) qcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
! A' A; o8 T9 ~  C8 pH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
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
2 o1 ~- a1 ]9 f% ~Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
( m# `: b$ x9 i3 e; S; }stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
2 J8 k* Q2 p: `) z  j8 Dreunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
! X# l4 r1 K8 u: O! D* v6 |who says God does work in mysterious ways.
7 K$ V6 Y1 J8 z( ?8 G; |I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
, S9 h0 A, {$ {" G% Y3 z3 Q, {you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
+ A/ D8 X" m7 i9 apromises are true, and when we give Him all our
9 K! W3 {$ W, @6 lcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
# f# A6 Z  J) L7 W! s" y# e$ ddifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
2 o0 p& ?( q1 C, D# s# rto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
1 T( ?$ N9 G. D/ O3 O. B- [you first.
9 k& M/ C' [: r8 I. `# xW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
& T) v1 C7 T) w- x1 u4 e/ @. hyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
* _6 o/ A3 X- Rseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
: ?) `" p& K8 P; i9 R% y2 u; Isay the following small prayer for the person
( e* ?5 O4 C+ Z* nwho sent this to you.
) J/ |  Q: z" t9 W% mFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
: r: X7 y( z: g$ W6 P+ y6 Gever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
. `! _: ?/ f) C, J- q( bprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!