The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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4 e% C7 ?+ J# ~$ G0 T* U4 t The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
( d! B6 V9 n* E$ \6 U+ C  Kto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
$ r& G4 |/ y: wexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
: r$ \' n$ k1 Z+ ]1 }: r5 emuch work. They set a goal to have everything
) y# z1 R$ a( J6 \done in time to have their first service
- ]0 F7 F, N5 ]8 p: ^: ton Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
: y/ b& O" a6 M+ i0 V2 upainting, etc, and on December 18
& H) ?4 \  X/ B$ xwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
, g4 k( u" N7 [& `& m' ~O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
0 Y- a7 u/ E3 o: |8 Q. n7 a$ |6 F, Hrainstorm 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
( O4 n, [& ^7 `20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
4 K6 a: d. w# r/ x* Q9 R3 [having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
9 _- b7 f9 o# B" y6 jembroidered 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.
B y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
# F( O, E9 D& t* J/ s: |/ ~invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
( v7 g7 O# c+ c+ mwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
( w# p8 [& C2 ^! n2 Gcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
5 q# V# g7 y4 Z* s  ^aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
" i* |* [% p+ Q# n; v% [4 }: w( zshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
' i  U" `2 R, J+ ~. l0 w6 K! q5 bThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
7 t" P. h+ Y# mthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
& m; y  i$ [5 u5 z! Ait there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
, F7 s1 u3 \& n* q& q& t4 xT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
. r% ^  S- {/ G% |" ?: _4 Mtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
1 Y3 w% V! e% d% f- g! Nher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
$ s! A0 j9 J0 f4 [( p! |husband or her home again.
+ h* t9 O' j7 h6 S$ u) ]T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
& f+ N1 K0 ?1 x' c3 SThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
6 \0 I; T0 c3 bfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
) u* k) G- |0 r  T3 m" n- ?Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
+ M9 i) N1 |, @) ^/ r9 hand many said that they would return..
1 _5 x8 ]8 C" s. J4 uOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
; U  g- L, l& `  V3 }The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
. `5 |9 H% T4 [3 m- Dthe front wall because it was identical to one
3 C, j6 {: Y& I1 [- Pthat his wife had made years ago when
! D# d* P5 z: k* _9 f: Ithey lived in Austria before the war and how
! C: [' Z3 g- J1 pcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
% y3 p; X7 ^1 d/ m' bforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
, d* {3 j% {' Xsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
" Q1 O. A  z4 W' m$ Z& P& [8 aagain 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
Island and to the same house where the pastor
, }) f; S! A7 {/ b9 v; Ohad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
4 L( t, Y4 V& k) P. |$ Vstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
/ v* ~3 v4 _' v, y( Bthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
4 O% c4 }: t9 greunion he could ever imagine.
: ]8 |: Q& R7 d9 T2 |$ [T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
& z% y( {/ d$ p, \% H7 B2 KI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
% c' C9 @8 ?6 N6 ^$ H7 p! Z5 |; ^6 [along your way. His love is always with you. His
% D* D2 A+ `0 o7 C( rpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
! J1 f6 p0 _# P5 _* Ccares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
! L$ l! O& p; idifficult at best, just remember I'm here
2 A* W0 e" S" F( ^( kpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
( L& _  A3 w, ^& z! y/ fto 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
) u" ]9 @3 }( W$ a1 T6 q# Sseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
, @# d7 N5 A) i$ C  A; M* P4 }say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
8 z6 n0 O% H- E# C) _  |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!