The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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* W8 d: z+ t$ e7 Y: D% F+ l The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
& l' h, O: M" r" X& Zto their first ministry, to reopen a church
: g6 r3 y, f$ Z' `9 `7 _; {in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
6 U- A1 @3 O% b$ K4 @4 C; vexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
* j( c; e; r' g+ \4 Ktheir church, it was very run down and needed
  W$ l# ?. u& Z- J; Amuch work. They set a goal to have everything
2 m! @/ h" T7 m# g& adone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
8 H+ L* j+ S7 B# p# v* Y- \& bO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
) C0 f: p! ?, I; {rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
' p6 D( y- C" m1 j6 ]0 C9 N* L1 r 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,
7 Y2 L3 M9 I  u& |# K" Wbeginning 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
0 J2 E" [; d8 rhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
0 _7 v" N) b$ z9 D% K' L) |; w. Vhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
( e( v: ]* ?# N+ @; E  Fwith 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.
B 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
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

1 Q. W  W1 ^* o/ y8 |She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
/ y2 ^' z( v1 T6 zwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
! U/ a) K- q% ~, Z' C1 `, Ecould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
0 M1 C- R8 O- taisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
" _; ?3 Z& B4 _, ]; A5 cshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
6 f7 l* e3 d+ ~( L6 SThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
: n4 z. a' A* }  A$ n( ait there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
# Y5 a, l9 F1 y: h! q. x: X0 l4 O+ dmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
9 a, w+ u8 _2 Z! R, v! U6 _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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/ ^, Z. V; C9 [5 L1 T8 NWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
6 H  V3 _9 g7 @/ s+ M" F: a) \He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
5 Y7 `; X- x. a5 u. xThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
5 A, J+ \. _5 X) _7 U2 gwas 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.
8 a7 P& D& P! lW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
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
and many said that they would return..
0 ~( ?! M  G* ^. b9 D& TOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
% s/ K& V7 y) z6 K& o8 x' ?) a" Ipews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
# {3 q! r' E8 z5 d! Xwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
1 b# r6 y; ?: o6 P0 wthe front wall because it was identical to one
# S/ `5 Y. @. n' E( x; t% B" T; wthat his wife had made years ago when
& z# V. f2 t9 o+ athey lived in Austria before the war and how
/ p4 x5 ?' o! i" T& e- `/ o9 Xcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
* f  }( n7 K; z# p) d, eH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
% i% b$ x$ V; b% z2 v9 Z, T  vforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
( w6 o5 d0 ]8 @( Rsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
  M8 e" m4 `" r) nput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
: z; D+ @6 p% B2 J! w9 @* s+ }T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
) l- S/ k: {! _' m) Vtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
2 F: L! ^8 p6 \" l# Z  ^7 IIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
5 T  Q& [6 v# V2 D9 d( s' FHe helped the man climb the three flights of
  J) k" ~- c: d: [stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
/ n! J/ z( H* Z0 R" ^who 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
) l: E' U8 ^' N6 Z0 ]along your way. His love is always with you. His
3 b1 [0 Z+ f* apromises 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
$ P% k  U5 _. V% I( |difficult at best, just remember I'm here
/ ^' j: O- `" N; q" Gpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
1 @+ R! |$ A) Y- n# t3 K3 hto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
4 U6 X& B( X3 E/ Cyou first.
, R; D/ g, f' {2 H+ t6 [5 q1 ZW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
2 `( j, S9 n7 E; O: Iyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
8 j2 ?2 P6 H0 ~0 C+ @* H# lseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
5 h; o( v* U0 |8 Ssay the following small prayer for the person
( Y0 w+ w" m4 b( D; c0 Awho sent this to you.
8 A8 s# E8 D7 hFather, 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,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!