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
, A: ]3 j% M+ ]7 r+ pto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
' c6 L: A5 T  con Christmas Eve.
3 P1 i3 m! S$ w# Y* U. `, pT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
4 B2 r, A- m7 U$ xrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
/ E6 H: W. S( ^His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
, u9 P( O# }* G; Y20 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.
6 G# w& i- D% C$ w& ]( d+ lOn the way he noticed that a local business was
" Q6 Q, n; M+ r  W5 v9 thaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
/ @4 o4 L; j' Cstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
7 \' a$ }1 `* x/ \3 Zhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
  d& B9 q; W4 E' ^& j/ P9 Nwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
2 [5 S' ^& E! ?+ Q7 rembroidered 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.
1 }2 M: T5 u( l6 `4 i; I2 j. KB y this time it had started to snow. An older
# i( z7 n1 ?% v) b$ P7 pwoman running from the opposite direction was
1 a0 o- N. V+ E1 D! T5 Wtrying 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
8 e1 k; t, i" }while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
# E$ @1 ^4 a& e9 \1 \7 e. b( xcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
7 f" A$ A5 a5 F5 y$ a- WT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
% _9 I+ _* V7 u' Z8 n% b. F  B( jshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
& ?/ ?1 y- j( w3 }8 ^( G4 QThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
3 r6 a9 [/ w) T* o8 ~it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
# j/ l2 ^+ l8 \5 n: Nmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
2 x+ a; r3 O5 g2 P' ?% b3 s: hT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
3 b0 c# e, Q/ T5 |told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
7 ~5 X2 F" b) ?  @* m0 x- M3 Mher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

' b5 _5 [0 B3 V5 LWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
+ x( y' t) l) {0 e/ `: W. ]  yHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
- n: R0 ~8 q/ V( y" s  cT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
9 U6 ?4 I. F  `7 ~4 A! T# pbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
; ~; w6 k' [1 _2 {* D4 a7 mThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ H/ n- o' l5 m; ?+ c. R: }1 Zwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
8 ^8 n; q7 [3 |! N# ~$ \for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
, N/ a" v1 l6 ^8 KEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
9 i: E5 O. F, w% Upastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
, W/ {/ K& P& E6 j# Fand many said that they would return..
+ F" Z3 A3 R% M7 _" I2 X& XOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
4 P8 z1 R$ n/ twasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
" M; k8 ?3 l* r2 P6 u8 m) e9 t; Sthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
* u$ C# C! M. f  Q! |) @+ Kforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
0 e7 A2 t; }: _/ c: zsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
% M1 a$ L. y8 Jput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
8 R% ~* j/ A7 uagain all the 35 years between.
% E/ g/ e  E6 E& k. X9 qT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
5 R3 L+ `) h" f/ IIsland and to the same house where the pastor
4 O2 g  c( d+ Yhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
: Q7 B3 `* G. z* c% zreunion he could ever imagine.
( c( @6 S& t7 _8 \T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
  i4 O# @8 X% [. J0 Jwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
& }% b% K, g* ?$ gyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
) r2 b" u8 _0 n; R' S1 H/ qalong your way. His love is always with you. His
( @' D$ K% Q/ ^" \! opromises 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
3 c: b' R6 f. U' Hdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
* b; S5 v: _2 F: r9 B  Uto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
% `( _  |# f9 `you first.
6 |9 T8 ^- q6 UW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
  a: N2 M( v" ^seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
: H: f0 n' [# v7 a3 h. \say the following small prayer for the person
3 E$ i# U9 Q* C: M6 qwho sent this to you.
8 s( J& P% r+ V5 ?2 ?: `Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
- V( }8 U( r0 Yever it is that You know they may be needing this
6 [" N" K5 g; q0 iday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
1 N  u' k$ T2 s% Qprosperity and power as they seek to have a
2 A( N; m1 z9 _) f: Tcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!