The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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) h6 f& @$ s, D5 H1 n) U9 m The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
$ J9 C, Y* s9 e1 @/ d  w8 pto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
/ T$ q! U. \( Y, Mtheir 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
& f. A) L/ W. u) F4 o# w# Won Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
* o) ]7 h  `+ b: E' H; n! {painting, etc, and on December 18
8 m9 U  ~; S8 L- h8 ywere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
5 J6 i: l  c; k3 ~, D" m, |rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
" i  |8 g6 A0 n( Z  j O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
2 D  V6 G$ g% h, Yleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
1 k8 P- z0 i2 ?- `3 `$ s20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
# R$ S* c9 x+ m6 wof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
( \' C# P- M& a. QT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
% r( f# g" J0 G8 r( k# ?+ {and not knowing what else to do but postpone
4 T6 R' Y1 Q, A+ }  mthe 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,
. S) g8 Y. @) Uhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
0 t3 m. g# x& r3 a) D, T' Bembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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: O7 c* L/ ^% u$ `+ fthe 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
' o6 U! l% _6 owoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
4 [6 C$ z; }% Z, r6 _9 W4 q8 c8 Rinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
6 N" Q+ D1 m. u% I) S. uwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
( l1 p8 p, R0 G! z7 U- A. Dup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
  M- T9 [1 ^- Y7 U6 f) y5 kcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
! b2 C4 M7 D# K) i5 x- Y' C. jT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
5 Q$ H: R8 q8 m8 c7 B; `- Pshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
4 \5 `1 y. s' L7 V7 d8 sthe 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
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
3 O2 i% b$ O2 x! ~, G6 W' K# KT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
2 S! {% E; d" D3 twoman explained that before the war she and
her 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
husband or her home again.
6 M1 |  k* q" A1 s: oT 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
9 m1 J2 J) C9 X1 q8 Nside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
$ y0 M& m# v. u7 c+ }: M0 V+ g; {for the day for a housecleaning job.
% Z( ~( X# q/ X: @0 |W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
) i) P# v! z& uEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
4 ]' \4 q8 _9 Y+ k8 m$ espirit were great. At the end of the service, the
1 J  S" s; [9 ?2 x( l; I9 vpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
. h9 `2 L6 Y. r; ~' S5 M+ O: }and many said that they would return..
% F6 Z" S4 f+ Z+ J6 ]7 }& B1 \One older man, whom the pastor recognized
' U8 k4 I1 F- j1 ~* ifrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
- H& n  A$ ~* Y6 T& E, x9 t9 Jwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
: e' c( C( T( g+ B& A6 _" h$ zthe front wall because it was identical to one
! L) f, }! w7 y: Z5 Pthat his wife had made years ago when
9 `# ^4 ]6 j% zthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
: x# c1 x% R# x' ?H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
) w5 n9 g' o. k9 _8 Z# I8 msupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
- X6 Q1 f  a. U. G( G. {/ _put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
: |# F6 }& s3 N! S$ Vagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
8 r9 ]5 D# t8 g( Wtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
9 d8 ^% s5 ^0 G6 g+ H3 oIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
2 Y' d, r3 H! t  G' d9 x* Z6 P2 K/ sthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
$ h3 r. v& @2 p$ R/ j5 oT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
; n: r1 D; I$ ]/ ewho says God does work in mysterious ways.
% V. _3 O5 {( w; U. bI 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
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
4 J4 n+ @2 R! z7 }% j3 Icares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
9 I* F+ J$ C) ^  }: _! Xdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
7 F( x) J5 T' C, k/ d4 H. N. lpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
, v) S, b: \+ qto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
' ]# g, p% V3 h7 K/ |6 L8 YW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
) i$ w0 \: H* X( T: yyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 v; T3 I& u, _: E+ A4 nseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
5 N! o# K5 H; gFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
7 A1 m$ |& N9 ]+ q5 Wever 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!