The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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6 C* U* l2 s7 g The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
  u9 P; a/ H/ Q( Gto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
& b. u3 u. u) E8 _* U( e% _their church, it was very run down and needed
# Z# S) z. a, ?much work. They set a goal to have everything
* H2 f5 ]' F0 _( F7 L" t( ~& r" mdone in time to have their first service
  G+ W7 o# b" don Christmas Eve.
( U; v1 A4 H6 C7 T; G5 e) Q( _T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
: C& [! u4 m6 @- opainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
  _- C& i; T; }; ^( _$ R9 q( yO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
6 M& N% Y5 X& y9 Z! a) P; d4 U1 e 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
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
. n* y. n7 |+ n# Q3 H6 B0 ^/ fT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
, K2 v" J1 U% `8 i8 U$ W9 m: ?On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
- q/ U* S& G' w6 D- Ostopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
% v8 _0 C# I; Y4 i3 h: Uhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with 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.
# ]3 m1 m  n% cB y this time it had started to snow. An older
  J! X3 s, E4 G8 Q- Q( Z0 dwoman running from the opposite direction was
6 E! Q+ c1 E& p, ]  E4 Y5 A! Ttrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
& [7 ]+ m& I8 G0 U; X5 H5 x- @7 Eup 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,"
8 V8 a2 K: b; A1 f: {she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
/ {, ~5 L' _( U6 K& \8 N, y  c0 EThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
* t6 _& |9 g/ C5 A- T3 Zit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
! k2 c: u1 i& L: i( ^, S/ r/ v+ ]T 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
+ G$ o8 ~0 L% }5 s5 B9 o; X* q. pher 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.
+ m2 U. R# K$ y$ b3 J2 G; z4 }He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
( R# o" ^; g# w% ?' Zhusband or her home again.
* \* C) P8 t  D, t, E; x# @: fT 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
6 T0 D7 R9 N- N9 Bwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
! L& Q& ]$ s8 G1 Kfor the day for a housecleaning job.
% Z3 X, [6 \0 R! _* v# pW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
; Z2 \% z0 y5 B8 l$ GEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
5 Q* y: S: c/ g& S6 Y; l! k' q5 Z, espirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
: |- N. J5 ?4 xOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
! Z5 |  l2 O* Y5 u. [pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
) j6 O5 Q& s# O  Wwasn't leaving.
7 w; j  l* [8 u' C  [& TThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
; p2 {# |, n6 [4 B5 x6 p  rthe front wall because it was identical to one
: |! W% q' B, H/ v3 {# Dthat his wife had made years ago when
. E( o' ~2 n: v. M5 w9 K6 o8 Zthey lived in Austria before the war and how
# J( g; m' B7 g9 J* N# fcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
5 Z% x7 c0 }# mforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
$ V/ W% {; s) }) Z2 R! oput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
4 _8 m+ B8 l" \( v0 l" o0 m- iT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
+ ?( c5 I8 B2 h: jtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
8 v" W& E& z1 o3 @9 h/ ^* r  Thad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
" m6 J! {4 P7 V9 \7 Ostairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
& t' U  i  J) w: uthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
& \3 Z, W7 D3 ?- H5 zreunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
: M8 a7 g6 T/ T0 y& [2 B3 T* y: bwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
9 g. J% d; p8 c" {# e: fI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
0 }; X+ m5 F0 Zyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
" k& F; ?% x% h/ N  a% E' D9 Ualong 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
4 ]2 o4 x! m+ V' z  Q% Tpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
) i/ ~  k1 X: H/ h" v) m2 o  jto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
1 X8 M- L7 z" s0 m; ^, Ryou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
- X+ y- t* T. {: a& ]: p  Zyou 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
6 T1 n- |& w0 f8 }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
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
4 D4 j% B0 B2 {prosperity and power as they seek to have a
" L6 M! P) K* {# Tcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!