The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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) V# a8 Y7 o7 ^( F4 W7 y The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
) x9 ~7 N% Q( {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
5 m4 N; h0 G/ U# s% t' F5 N9 ^% Z# F: k: [much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
& q- {5 ]. P- f9 u/ u! ^painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
8 n( d; C  x; c; Zrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
" G, |# u5 C/ Y4 W3 |+ t7 QHis 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
  D8 G, w! D5 w$ `" r: Eof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
$ g8 h5 b' u9 w% ?, R( rand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On 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,
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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) I7 j# m1 |; I  Q8 L0 i% [* Wthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
9 ^: r" }, U% {+ CB y this time it had started to snow. An older
6 r" h7 |5 w! O0 _2 p  U" zwoman running from the opposite direction was
$ J# q2 m5 J  u6 t9 w( i+ {9 Rtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
9 v' v# T5 X; x" i. V' Dthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
6 v5 r1 |( x( C  B( J% [while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
3 N1 P- Y# n: u$ }/ Y; zup 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,"
& ]7 X( w# @. t6 ~# E! M+ ishe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
! z$ L; l& e/ m$ {% DThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
0 C8 Z' @0 H$ V$ R* ^the 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
) w4 f+ o( q" r8 |8 Y% rmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
9 ^/ s- r  H1 f: ftold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
2 F* u+ f( C1 }, o$ }. xwoman explained that before the war she and
. i4 J  a0 q" ^: h0 F: xher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
& l- H$ u# F4 m, ]: E, CHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
) W9 J- |& b; UHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
; q0 {; Q9 C$ ]! b% t" Q* v3 @) R; [- N+ yT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
+ N. ?1 c# o9 cThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
1 J4 }, R2 S$ }0 k  ^1 mside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
8 G& g+ o( B, K! g0 xEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
( I# a4 V- W3 N0 ^# I9 Ospirit were great. At the end of the service, the
$ e( y% C: `' U2 Cpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
) w- i3 A2 D  V' D% H( @One 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
* _1 z/ l6 f: r' b; w8 Rwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
  E3 ^# |/ O( J/ h7 E* L& D8 O" Hthat his wife had made years ago when
1 m" Q# O7 h* W% ithey 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
* L( ~2 c$ @! X' Sforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
; ?4 i/ P& r8 C: P: \: ~6 {put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
+ O2 H+ C+ H5 e, k, @T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
- i0 x5 V! H2 o# t/ cIsland and to the same house where the pastor
4 J% I" K7 G& f: A( S' z8 Dhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
: E3 n; R* i) Nstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
% \) q" ^  s  t! ireunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
, u% g  }* k" x. r$ Uwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
$ Z9 q! _9 N* P! ?. ralong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
; E3 g( _. u" r. N8 hcares we know He will see us through.
" N% T1 W, X7 `2 bS o when the road you're traveling seems
  i6 c1 K+ R5 i# b/ Qdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
: j, U  L& m( Y" h0 y; qto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
4 R0 ]9 C, z* a7 q7 {, XW 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
1 q1 ]" y# R: Dwho sent this to you.
! s5 n, r3 w$ x3 {8 RFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
0 ^& d( V) e; Q" v. Jever 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!