The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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8 C( |7 i: S& N) [" g The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
; O, h& @# v" e2 Ein suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
3 [' O1 O( g1 B9 k- qmuch 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,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
9 {. j. v' \% Z4 e0 oO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
  I' }- G+ S- b1 nrainstorm 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
2 k# e3 Z% P) h$ jleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
6 k- h( a( n0 C1 O1 C& P; H/ _20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
% Z" t# a9 D7 r5 h- q+ Iof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
$ N, ]# a8 [% U+ `# Qbeginning 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
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
- `& e. X8 o& s8 r2 ?% Qstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
8 y: f, J2 o/ u2 _with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
; p% r' M0 ?* f* @4 M2 dembroidered right in the center. It was just  

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/ n8 }9 D5 S, a& M1 i: gthe 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
. N5 q- g5 K: ^" Q5 y* K2 rtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
- c, o- U# `7 @# athe next bus 45 minutes later.
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' P0 ^& w4 [" h) g# SShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
5 u  H, f+ B. W* Qwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
& a! W) _" A: F% scould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
: [7 T! [9 Q2 d/ p6 O# q! F9 Paisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
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
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
! B' z  ^) B0 w: l4 P3 p: d( B& X  eT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
$ R& r2 a* }( B& |$ g0 y. l2 d+ ztold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
: x0 B6 l4 ^+ v2 J( Awoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

- k6 i% F- s; _9 f& L* HWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
4 ]. X8 d9 O5 M. M5 c8 IHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
, g; \- i5 B3 K, |& G: r/ j1 ahusband or her home again.
% N4 R' n1 ^$ K% L2 R! oT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 M& b2 N7 R, s; ?& Tbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
3 l9 k9 t6 O! s" v* v2 u9 q& l$ JThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ |9 L! m8 M* U& `, S7 Gwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
5 [; R% m" c! f; o8 Vside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
! j! V% Z5 ]/ I+ U( N+ h$ yW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
3 C# O4 X. ^4 W8 n* tEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
" S, r/ L+ N9 W, N' U8 R, c) @pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
6 J& B- G, u" oand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
4 C. I' f- @( A; g" @pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
( P( I" {# f# V$ y0 X5 |" _The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
- ~5 M, G$ w1 q, f* xthat his wife had made years ago when
8 E" R- O6 ^/ ^& Othey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
8 Q$ d, x2 ]/ X8 v; i+ D0 h/ F: M) L$ vH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
$ Z- v$ }4 k) |1 h% ?  _supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
& \& y. O+ m4 \2 K8 c; magain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
4 c  W( t' I. Otake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
( V8 j* b; `5 \& y8 ?2 |4 uIsland and to the same house where the pastor
1 ]/ e8 i/ A: Z% |had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
+ P2 V( B" \# U- d  nthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
" ^! D% n: f2 H2 A# r3 P6 J0 \who says God does work in mysterious ways.
5 Z6 z" J% T% O2 X8 \+ VI 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
cares we know He will see us through.
S 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
0 ?+ I8 I) R9 g* J& D, Nto 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
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
  Q; G+ d' i/ d% p0 xFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever 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
0 p/ f8 }& `" Y2 S. V3 P% W# Ocloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!