The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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3 i2 Q( [: u( R! t2 z3 \
/ N' `8 ~! K0 E  Q1 K. b( a: M4 K The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
7 i. F1 w) H. y& @excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
/ @& B$ L) d, c$ i- b- g. G1 Gmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
. z' X6 C- Q+ w/ Son Christmas Eve.
9 B( ^$ |% V/ Q1 o* S8 dT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
& A0 e  Y, T3 Y$ j: r8 ]+ ypainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
) E& w& k, ]& g" Z( {; @His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
) W. H2 k# C9 N7 Wleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
* z. _4 l4 p' P) j20 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,
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
# m3 y6 m! x) g( c3 G5 d" g6 dhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
  g: K3 A* f: |& H' o+ Y6 lhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
6 P4 q& ?8 y* |3 g- {) d2 x( }: d0 _7 ywith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
1 A3 c+ e' Z/ n1 B, Dembroidered right in the center. It was just  

% U  t! p6 L: k& m3 U, F


$ x# ]) v0 Y' T

1 Z5 q0 ?1 A! E: i3 m4 I( e% fthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
  ^# s% d) I* N, X- u% n, q7 wB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
  `6 g2 {0 E0 |7 Q1 S# _' Binvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

, I8 [8 K, X( h2 i$ r9 HShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
: y5 c" d6 V  V# f/ |! aT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
5 M: j6 L/ b8 d! X- n" \aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
) K5 z/ E; ?" g0 J" Kshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
( t/ g& H' X/ e9 a, e" `the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
3 v. ^7 `4 ?) B4 |  G- ^! Kit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
4 \# V: r8 L6 P* ^made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
5 Q) h3 Y9 [4 htold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

5 u  z' e; p  i  O3 yWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
. g' p6 ^6 p4 O0 z  d3 KHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
* K  n( D+ s) d8 N# A9 T  X% |* Hbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
# Y$ T. a. q2 P% ]% z0 VThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
' e& _6 N+ T- a3 w% Swas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
8 ^: y" F9 w3 Z. I6 R' \& ^3 B% bfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
  k  z7 U2 t8 l, y. ]4 a9 V! {Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
3 t% a( k/ @' p$ Pand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
( n6 H. n0 [: |9 tpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
9 F- a4 ?2 I/ Z  X4 x1 x: V& j, C$ Kwasn't leaving.
$ v( R! D' j& k! X, w' S( o$ gThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
, ^& t2 }# g5 V. V3 Lthat his wife had made years ago when
# y6 f% L6 `" Ithey lived in Austria before the war and how
$ ?% r- _5 P. R9 ~could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
3 N& X( ]6 R1 u4 ^forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
& Q! q- m! z$ P5 }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.
1 r  p  H8 F/ M9 l3 t1 Q' G0 PT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
1 Y5 ~- u3 y, d  N: P  B7 ^: Y( `take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
+ D/ O7 A1 F( a! F* |( ^8 o3 \; wHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
1 V+ ^/ b7 X1 [4 L" e2 m0 Lthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
% F! j+ n, x# m$ L9 a. Areunion he could ever imagine.
$ i/ g2 w- D. xT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
5 B+ z" W! I& ^' R6 F* Vwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
6 `! S+ O6 w' W& y2 j; |I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
5 w$ O( P" `; m) N& u, @# r8 Zalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
/ }% {, @0 v/ L5 _cares we know He will see us through.
; c0 s! D4 g: n; B  @  o) rS o when the road you're traveling seems
/ K) E; W1 Q5 s1 U0 G! Xdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
5 b6 u  \. Q8 Fpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
2 b% X  b' g- `" P$ Y( Xto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
* B" e: V8 s- Dyou first.
5 Y  s6 ~' {! H' qW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
# [3 }) \" q# Y% R( d5 e( kyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
/ `+ f( t5 @. p- R! K( gsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
6 q4 H! r7 y. f  ~6 E" F) E* b" uFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
- K4 D0 _3 H, K0 g8 B' Sever it is that You know they may be needing this
% i8 }4 D+ P1 m' g% ^day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
& A2 T2 T! d) d- o; V. s1 Iprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!