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
. {$ j/ c7 O2 y8 }6 Lto their first ministry, to reopen a church
. F1 O2 a5 c8 a3 Gin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
! j! q  [9 L2 A* E* J& S- \$ Texcited about their opportunities. When they saw
8 O, O# s( p& ~their church, it was very run down and needed
6 {2 d1 Q! {5 ~7 Kmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
3 ]- k0 q) Y) l4 `* Bdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
0 H& m  ?4 l6 \0 n" t& TT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
/ `5 t5 E$ v6 q/ x7 Twere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
& ^# b% v! l  K$ n3 ]O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
0 d$ C+ ]# a  G0 Y5 J2 zrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
' O2 q9 X+ i/ k 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
1 E  i5 J$ u# O& M6 v. E4 Q% x" Z3 |20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
$ \8 Z  j: ]3 D3 A( ~1 C+ H1 }T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
; m  c/ m$ k0 N9 yand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
$ {: F: i+ J+ v% S( J; g  c, Fhaving 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
4 q4 q% T  [  Tembroidered right in the center. It was just  
3 g$ B* h$ d) P% m


9 ]9 m! a( Y7 E, G

/ \9 W# i: I' {- |' R4 n
& l& ]1 J  Z9 t* X* Gthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
/ \3 i2 i2 H/ Z. U; m) y+ D) bB y this time it had started to snow. An older
- \' ^: l: G0 `, Q1 l' gwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
& G. q& w8 E5 ~8 p* h4 kinvited 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
+ M8 ?* P' r$ d9 k0 A- Uwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
/ @) |+ T; ^) y- |up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
9 u6 j, F5 t. ^4 gcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
) k5 i' i0 V# |( \1 K+ _5 zT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
# o3 ]. S9 b( gshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
7 V1 [& P7 a4 m3 I' d! Z" m- _, ^The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
1 i4 }' \- i# L1 Othe 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
  f9 W& Q, M# Cmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
, u2 o* x: @; ?( QT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
, m2 e% {. a. j) 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.
  i; p; j* \5 \! O& eHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
7 s( E/ T$ {1 V  yhusband or her home again.
T 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
9 H+ _& l& y8 d+ a! swas the least he could do. She lived on the other
3 ~+ I* {& e: \  t* H' v5 X; `: aside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
0 r7 U. @! y6 o5 d& ~8 \for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
# d: S0 c* `3 C$ @4 c/ K$ dspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
5 C5 @9 A5 e* H" e- Q- Cpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
7 U2 J3 A" X2 {/ Qand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
; g4 X0 n0 A* ?4 upews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
3 v$ N5 f. F/ c( cwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
; g3 f9 B, {" k8 Cthe front wall because it was identical to one
) I' [# H+ Y! `' B$ H2 Gthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
2 d. v* n/ z3 r7 t1 rH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
- W& a& W* R2 I. T& H2 w$ X# ?put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
6 S5 u2 v( N  b9 X/ oagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
2 g. y% N7 w1 F; M& `5 ]6 M4 q! o2 u8 rtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
1 b1 ~; a! I0 Y6 N4 L# k1 k% x1 L! c) Rhad taken the woman three days earlier.
2 G! {2 @& g6 O/ CHe helped the man climb the three flights of
, ?( B! K7 E- q5 ystairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
0 ~. J7 n- H/ E0 @6 Jthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
4 V3 o0 k, z2 Z0 W8 y4 u, Mreunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
: \2 [$ R$ Z' `' Swho 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
2 m( H' H( V, y, a2 Xalong your way. His love is always with you. His
0 _5 s( z% ]7 V8 V+ y6 tpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
* L6 t/ x4 H- P6 zS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
4 h: D: J( I: ]( `6 ~4 j* o4 Tpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to 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.
$ F7 ^- C5 k3 k, B9 ?; U5 i& J4 _Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
+ P+ L; T0 k0 u' Yday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
: X7 d+ l3 i( tprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!