The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
+ \' q( c4 ?# C" zto their first ministry, to reopen a church
7 U5 q5 P9 e6 [; fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
  K# u' g# g! j/ u1 ]excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
  k5 k0 o4 Q6 vmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
$ O. u7 ?% p# w% sT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
3 E" f/ w, A  E* S. w' G; e6 u" jpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
6 _2 \! J$ @2 C  _" n- h; SO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
6 w8 z, X4 X% P* d! | O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
; V" Z% c" t( FHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
: q1 c# C& H) @; G6 d' v' w- wleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
1 t5 s- T( W4 Y. w* D7 {of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
4 l- h# e( A; B# v: Vbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
7 c$ I; n/ c5 p5 n9 q$ ~+ p7 ~: Iand not knowing what else to do but postpone
, w4 C6 I" r& d' uthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
1 ~( r/ R5 f' T3 u, vhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
& |, \4 @4 a3 \* P0 I# |stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
: Q& F# t& Q0 z7 y# B% Hwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered 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.
1 ?; @9 u# _3 J: O1 f( yB y this time it had started to snow. An older
$ r7 K) W# s7 `% u1 {: U& ewoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
  u& X9 ]. `9 p2 \6 ^$ ~- Y6 W0 R- Iinvited her to wait in the warm church for
! v& r9 B; ?# K; X' e3 Athe next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
1 y4 _' A/ L: y) P3 _while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
& W1 g; D2 d) n' Z: {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,"
7 L6 X- H$ L4 }. A) X4 A& D! kshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
: a( n" ?2 `& I4 y' V% pThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
& E& A2 W& X2 cthe 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 .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
5 ~8 a# q/ q2 H8 V6 g9 _woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
* U5 K/ |* }" ~% M5 ^7 O4 iHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
' Q! q2 W8 j  Z3 I, w) Khusband or her home again.
5 Z$ s$ j* I! ]3 Z* ~T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
  X+ |9 d4 W! q2 U( N% [but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
7 r" [6 x6 T0 x- ^" q* y% uwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
, G% n. N5 N- h6 w7 |* oside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
6 j6 l* W/ }; }9 q3 Hfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
+ l; t1 g, ~' v3 D  Z8 W" AEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
+ ^2 n6 f8 ?6 Q6 D* N( e9 L! H( Qpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
# M" I8 H# f7 P) M+ P/ A4 R- iand many said that they would return..
. ]2 j2 N5 g  V$ p% Q4 B0 H0 n4 [One older man, whom the pastor recognized
' h+ V- P3 k8 m$ A/ P  L+ D0 Wfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
5 i& x* j; s. Mpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
) L2 B# W6 M; _' XThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
. F* u! f2 {8 y* Y; O6 bthe front wall because it was identical to one
& i& H" R7 |0 U  J: d. ~# T, Dthat his wife had made years ago when
/ p6 y8 t; M  [1 L2 v4 Hthey lived in Austria before the war and how
; o1 C+ ?% f9 {, {7 ?could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
" j4 T7 r5 V1 u5 F) K! ]2 Mforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
4 \' y8 I( {! g. fsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
1 U3 E+ J" G+ G3 G7 C$ u7 _0 P1 yagain all the 35 years between.
1 n0 t# e% R5 I2 F5 k- KT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
. I# \0 B) Q& W, G- Utake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
8 V2 N4 q* B% ~+ p: I% R1 Fhad taken the woman three days earlier.
$ o# o( d/ c) Y% K9 k) r$ ?He helped the man climb the three flights of
* B; _3 Z9 Q& ?) |  t) Q$ `stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
4 X  c( }5 B* I& @" X2 Wthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
. q( I' x; W5 M% z5 }9 a) ~5 A, `T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
. l9 v& s) v. @: y, c! R; }/ lI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
  G* w0 V. A1 lyou 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
1 O: V: p' u. ]: W! Vcares we know He will see us through.
' Q0 u1 [5 _- j& {- n! CS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
3 x2 ~4 r8 N- T2 v" T4 ]to those you want God to bless and remember
3 |) a$ I; K$ }  Xto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
$ Z' }& N! Z( V  n2 {% }. z3 Fyou first.
6 A' z+ o; A" |" |W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
) {. z, Z) _6 Q2 l/ Z7 qseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
' E8 R5 B$ a0 y* _5 x% ksay 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
: G2 ?# O2 S4 u4 h: q, uday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
: M5 F1 Y7 v! O1 Yprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!