The Tablecloth

propeller

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



% M, t8 {/ ]" ?+ i* c* J% Y9 p4 L$ a The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
% y' F1 A4 a* t4 x2 Vto their first ministry, to reopen a church
  R0 r$ S- c/ _- o3 Xin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
9 U" B! S! n0 X7 t+ W" M2 g) bmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
/ E/ t0 z3 A9 J+ @done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
9 l+ t) r# F5 _1 }+ b! \5 a4 jT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
. A9 O4 }- x: Q5 K: s# g, vO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
1 \" A* p, S: Y0 D$ Nrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
( J7 n' m) J3 x2 O! M) OHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
. q  j2 {/ t) _1 P: Vleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
, P7 c) D: p5 c8 S& f+ R) xof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
  R3 `4 _# }7 G! Cbeginning about head high.
. z' g  y: l' D. U4 F; b: U% QT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
& {( d: V5 l; \3 l% ~5 Nand not knowing what else to do but postpone
& w) Q5 o. _4 c+ lthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
. }) ?4 j' U+ vstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

4 ]. y6 ]. j3 E9 Z! j' e" H# j


4 M* Q/ Q5 g9 W7 y8 u- ^: A# k4 b
2 u& y3 W0 j. I7 o5 ~7 P" ]
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
0 M8 b9 @" |+ C/ O8 q3 E3 RB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
1 O; N  r+ k5 Q. J' N, f: ]trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
, y; R0 y; ^4 B" h! Rthe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
+ u. K3 j  |- z" X. P; Eup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
! ~; B4 ~# a1 u7 Jshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
2 Y- m5 H9 W, E5 O2 wThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
3 G1 g  C5 Q) h) ?- y, S# tthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
9 J( o6 G0 u1 [6 D2 x: ^made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
* s; n2 p. i, g4 w, tT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
: ~9 Y1 R5 m+ N  G, Pwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
. W* \& k5 o8 J; e9 G9 mhusband or her home again.
; J+ g! F' T! @# s* O3 m( `1 r! G, dT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
& b+ n2 K( X8 y' z( j1 `3 ^side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
6 X/ d3 d2 G: l& h& Qfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
* M# \0 D. i! m$ T# j. O+ Qspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
2 Q- o- n6 g& J$ r* Qpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
: ^* j+ L" T' R# G7 \1 X& E: O5 E. Tand many said that they would return..
; s6 g/ T6 E, r4 ~7 |: z& mOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
" Q; b$ j! ?% Sfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
" v/ B" i. `: s1 t% k& [: ?pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
, L5 f2 M. Q& v  Iwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
3 y! U  M2 n  S2 V3 _' O  Vthey lived in Austria before the war and how
% P& b8 C2 o( Z  Q2 Icould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
0 t1 J, I* d7 H/ c& A* Q1 |9 lH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
: \* C' _4 D  F" Z* T$ fforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
: c: G4 m, k# H! sput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
! b2 L6 X6 k; ?7 magain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
# Y( z9 B! w  P8 n  J4 l6 htake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
; ]( z7 i7 b. LIsland and to the same house where the pastor
  h/ U5 c. W! [had taken the woman three days earlier.
" q/ N% m# h; F6 U+ O: V* Y& [' hHe helped the man climb the three flights of
8 f: O* \1 r: l0 `/ L( {, o7 estairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
  l* Z- W& R2 ethe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
" c1 ?5 U1 [) Z  Q! v" o$ H2 wT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
, `5 U+ b: j( f7 v; o; l  R4 P* ~you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
7 Z$ F3 G4 Q# kalong your way. His love is always with you. His
; @& L- R8 p$ t+ [! c5 f0 Dpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
- x: \* p9 C* j3 E0 w- I- xcares we know He will see us through.
9 B8 t0 p8 S' c2 O1 \( y1 kS o when the road you're traveling seems
( ^+ Q7 z- u. v* E" b2 f; Odifficult at best, just remember I'm here
( r, V3 ]  r4 Spraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
6 D8 D$ I9 U5 N( C/ ]: d5 }5 s# @to 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
9 y/ ], T3 H- g- ]* Eseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
5 B+ ]3 v0 P! {: k, asay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
$ j* W" t+ `7 g0 D1 y  o7 j5 WFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
. j# \* F7 ^3 D# D" Eever it is that You know they may be needing this
5 k$ b$ S- T5 H$ bday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
8 Q2 I9 g/ n- V6 V! H4 ]prosperity and power as they seek to have a
$ D" {+ W4 ^& B/ }7 ~: [closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!