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
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
7 b- I. S, n1 r5 R8 J% Z1 iin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
& t+ Z3 m% X0 u! g3 yexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
6 R1 m# P6 y  i; o5 f3 n# y# H$ s5 rmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
" r( v% h6 ?1 Rdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
3 Y& R8 c! q/ `T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
* o: M2 @/ y4 N2 j0 P" ~painting, etc, and on December 18
3 a9 n7 T3 l% z8 Qwere 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.
! u9 p) ~) {4 ~2 d1 s 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
5 M) Z; |! C  y2 O) q; T20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
% A9 }0 X  n& z: G5 h) I9 iof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
/ y: F& i/ Z! V& J7 Zbeginning about head high.
2 r8 x/ c  ?: k$ p! K6 K3 _! C( \+ jT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
* l4 Z3 g0 O8 f) tand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
: l  B5 ^' V  xOn the way he noticed that a local business was
( F  W( r; Z! r/ r/ M; N) bhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
& F. E5 y4 c, \9 {( N( [/ ^! cwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  


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( {+ u0 d5 [' e  |the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
5 w: r. |* [* X8 N- N" K( qB 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
, D+ y( V* d' n/ Z. jinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
8 E9 [3 n, J; p  R& M
; ^5 j' V0 Y" K1 bShe 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
4 [; l; f# L0 mcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
1 ?6 s( m+ n! b. Q( g. }: [1 oT 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?"
6 R7 [# f( A+ iThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
1 ~5 _7 M( ?0 s$ s% w9 ?7 Pit 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
told 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 .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
, l& v7 j2 e) rHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
* g3 e4 X! c! K1 P: ~. y7 q9 U/ NHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
" D7 @: Z& |2 u2 R* M* Shusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
8 p& U' f: C1 ^: G$ ybut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
! S7 z; o* X: D) N4 b2 U6 rwas 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.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
. |4 u) Z0 b- K7 H8 j4 `4 TEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
# W% H4 V4 w/ _0 I5 e+ Wspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
' x& a5 B6 Z! {: {pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
" O! ^- D$ ^3 m& L8 wand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
% M4 M; C% M' i& \; ?from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
$ y- R6 ^# ~5 w! ?5 [5 uwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
  Y% _2 }6 ~) j, w/ nthat his wife had made years ago when
% P7 _- [- P% N0 cthey lived in Austria before the war and how
8 o6 K' K; j) ]could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
4 x/ l7 i8 b4 w% H) L2 V/ ^- R) N5 bH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
4 ?1 B5 H  {- V* ?: }) Hforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
6 V$ i% `+ ~; u- l; Xsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
; C3 z. N8 h6 x& k' G8 Q+ d# kagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
- X% S( B. H, X" D+ _+ Ttake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
' O( O& H- f# q5 J& J5 e3 U8 a* mIsland and to the same house where the pastor
3 O1 Q, [# O: V0 }; c) Z. i6 D3 h% }had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
+ K2 b' p, N5 G, @the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
* S9 p* S% C" ?reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
+ H1 U7 D6 D& N; Wwho 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
along 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.
; t/ _) G# w* T4 c) R8 XS o when the road you're traveling seems
: C% L6 S0 Z& e2 o- |$ udifficult at best, just remember I'm here
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
: z' `9 ~$ ]6 `" F) @  nyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
  \4 o- e$ Y6 _; b! }you find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 O  k  d9 H5 T6 U; O! S& A2 Xseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
/ n  P4 O( w+ u; E' [" J. Fsay the following small prayer for the person
- L' H7 L- e$ L6 d: Q5 jwho sent this to you.
, s5 D- I8 {" ?Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
7 L9 a; `- c4 zever it is that You know they may be needing this
8 [& [! a" O: u, i: J$ ]day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
3 t7 S, S0 t$ |& A, Lprosperity and power as they seek to have a
2 n' }. _  D6 ?closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!