The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason


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$ X6 L! v$ |$ A2 [* _7 v The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
- P) Z& Y) e/ v8 G9 zin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
3 `1 ~$ |. k: M. d8 y6 y" Oexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
8 Y& t* s5 s  B0 ?* q! bmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
7 {' V' w2 o# |8 P' d; y7 r4 t8 Edone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
& j1 X$ y4 n" J2 r- Spainting, etc, and on December 18
% W' h+ B: R' N! p7 D' D7 Rwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
& Z# Q0 o& a7 }" H1 P3 uO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
% W7 ~; x3 Y! a- t; O 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
- g+ S6 O9 Q( B! m5 t# u0 u20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
/ ?; l; Q2 t( A! L- jof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
' k& q  V0 E0 rbeginning about head high.
3 }1 s$ B7 }5 D- d  e4 _& n  j( pT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
. H7 m3 L, a6 z3 Wand not knowing what else to do but postpone
, U' C. a) R; r8 Zthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
9 ~9 _7 M; A; vOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
/ r4 Z& |" D( P% X; m: v+ gstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
' q# V& a, z1 X5 v. Ghandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  



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1 m- {: @% H' p! M7 G1 ethe 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
1 `: C0 a9 A, s' C# wwoman running from the opposite direction was
% p8 n; U) p( o  J% i9 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.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
; I8 e6 P6 r* y, S$ Awhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
& d, ~7 `4 x! j4 L9 f6 v# A8 Uup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
7 V" ~) Q8 \' F- ~5 f3 {3 yT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
+ ?8 I/ |6 b9 faisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
2 H' t7 b6 }0 R# fshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
/ g4 m: j; [, O& T. y% v* YThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
& v- [! w' }7 N% K+ o/ G& p' m( Y3 ithe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
+ y* E: t" x. e. Qit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
$ ^4 R) A& l) Dmade 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
, h! T% V; t9 V% P3 ywoman explained that before the war she and
1 V- p3 E! D' y. _& J  gher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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. H; P! {: G0 p* e3 T6 yWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
& X# O2 W  X8 m' G6 B0 p' GHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
# U- z& v2 u. ~1 m. a" ]  aHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
/ S4 x6 D9 x) A) Q- [9 JT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 }7 b0 @' o6 z& F5 A, ubut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
& D) D1 N! G7 U: Y7 FThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was 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.
! m4 }, P+ s8 K2 l2 p; _! cW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
% I5 d, U* K2 S2 K6 p$ m. B& J; AEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
, u" i! C1 g  b$ Nspirit 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..
* C" ~1 n' R4 u" V- R; qOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
' G( U8 k+ \8 z. c$ lfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
: z5 I9 p) S% R9 gwasn't leaving.
# O; |$ x5 X/ l# @7 }* |The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
7 K* L" s9 T( o# ]9 Q* sthat his wife had made years ago when
2 `. b6 v% b- `" X' X- ~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
4 s4 ]/ k! g# X5 S: Gforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
" M. @& x  C" k: Y. t4 Z2 ~8 o) qsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
. U6 l  o  D4 `again all the 35 years between.
! K! B. h/ R  ]5 D8 ZT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
; ?9 x0 }& e  b- q7 @3 G5 QIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
0 G; \9 v# H8 Q1 l2 Wstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
2 l( ?5 m0 }( C/ I# K! F& r3 cthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
+ H/ z* C0 ^5 r$ T; ^T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
8 J: \7 G7 x7 b5 n) Xwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
8 R) ^) p$ ]# Z) r6 X5 c# o6 FI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
! W9 x5 J3 n4 h6 L1 cyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
% Q% l2 i6 M2 Wpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
& @) Q* \- S  Z8 I4 X$ mcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
0 G1 _3 n- i$ [' g7 Z+ \$ Y8 g, wdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
: E. I$ K; F: l# K2 ?3 lto those you want God to bless and remember
/ {' K1 L- P$ W5 Ito 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
% A4 S' G; c2 e$ f; j) C6 @7 yseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
* [, [% Z2 N. R/ mwho sent this to you.
8 h* V% J. n; c3 Q' S+ vFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
8 a/ p; ^  I- [- D, ^& P) h3 xever it is that You know they may be needing this
0 |9 I. z) L# h) J; D" V$ _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!