The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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' e- t$ |( Y& C6 o The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
0 X& a6 k5 a# B$ w8 T  G$ Z' a$ ytheir church, it was very run down and needed
7 h# }, Y' \2 j' z0 U0 ]much work. They set a goal to have everything
1 J( K* ]. O7 E' r) v" |5 Kdone in time to have their first service
3 A% u) J+ d2 j7 j& con Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
; _0 E+ V* n& E8 r3 C( `- `8 I. Lwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
! r0 g5 @5 z9 X. n8 CO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
! t$ T. ~( V3 ]4 r& {8 e8 C O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
" R5 Z. r6 M* m; X" {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.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
8 z7 ~7 N  X* g( m1 |. }( rand not knowing what else to do but postpone
8 i; p: e# _+ A, c5 F  nthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
3 S& o$ z, {% C8 {2 UOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
5 w1 l# O3 J. ?/ n2 N5 a2 xstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
  n9 e& V& w- z: e6 shandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
! X; L# V6 K2 oembroidered 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.
B y this time it had started to snow. An older
  R3 z# L' |/ u3 a1 M( Iwoman running from the opposite direction was
/ {' U: W# b) ctrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
0 e) B' k* S6 {1 V, Vthe 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
8 @% {$ \) A4 Q6 h6 a7 Iup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
8 k+ p( U) e: `: L/ mcould 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,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
  w" {- w+ e: |: P+ n2 a! {8 w7 _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 .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
! h! A1 y/ w! a# k: c; Ntold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
0 d/ u) J/ v$ F  u* y- Dher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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# O7 c) ]8 W' k9 H4 a6 }! cWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
8 O8 p9 `2 L+ \  O" e0 D% L% e2 [* N( q5 JHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
+ u) u) E) b- r- y1 e- X9 d9 x# k, q9 shusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
: [  C8 s. w, H& Q3 o/ u! SThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
+ S- h. B$ [7 A$ d# m& Bwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
7 p5 ~/ ?; N& n! e4 P5 SW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
3 u8 P" j' d! z  G# _2 {& Mspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
5 `' @  g* A0 l8 A' bpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
  k( W2 n5 a  y, t: a% w4 R$ o* o* wOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
: J# }9 Q; `+ K8 [1 l5 |9 pfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
' w3 ?) k( S2 U! R( Twasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
) a* i! s* s3 \+ S1 ]! C( m: p$ athey lived in Austria before the war and how
- p$ `9 G8 R) m  @9 H9 r0 `% ~+ hcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H 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
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
5 m6 D6 r1 m  j! O3 ?1 i5 Y1 dtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
+ D* J" L7 f7 K8 T. B+ nIsland and to the same house where the pastor
( r% r- o* Z7 d3 D- |# p3 D/ Y6 whad taken the woman three days earlier.
4 P; w3 x1 i4 ]; V' x  kHe helped the man climb the three flights of
" ~- a" l7 w" \! Jstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
- c1 [% U4 k" @1 A3 v* Zthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
$ f) E3 v' T- W, [reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
+ }  f0 h1 C, \, twho says God does work in mysterious ways.
$ f# Y" O' b2 ^- Z6 uI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
3 E7 U% `/ v4 \$ X( C; Ayou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
/ u7 E2 k: _' j. lalong your way. His love is always with you. His
- N) g. _" v$ \% J: hpromises 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
$ H% x; j' m* z; ]/ J% ydifficult at best, just remember I'm here
1 _- D4 |: Q  b1 P+ _9 ]5 }praying 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
1 h* n. y# |7 C) l/ Nseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
" e% \8 e$ h) r7 \- u% t' Q; m. _say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
. z+ [) d) A. B  P0 Y3 Uever it is that You know they may be needing this
! C$ B, Y5 }! Iday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
4 D; o! m$ R5 u, d; bprosperity and power as they seek to have a
. ^! N: n9 k# O, o2 @8 I8 tcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!