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
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
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
( G% Y/ w1 z$ J) Apainting, etc, and on December 18
were 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.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
  I' @/ G# ~5 t7 M" mHis 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,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
/ a( t: M3 |$ i9 y2 Wand not knowing what else to do but postpone
8 r* q. Y+ i  e* }: B, a" _$ i! J; q: lthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
& i6 E* o) P% ]- _4 t& ^9 Phaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
4 Y8 t  w" P0 istopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
+ z; @% _. U9 ?with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
9 F/ }% v  F" O8 I- ?embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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) J+ C: t% V& _: k
8 Q* Z: D0 x8 H" ?0 I) Athe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
1 T" L: c3 L* \8 {/ a/ o& ~$ ^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 H9 B& n8 P* }+ tShe 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
& p+ ^2 T) x# T8 s& Q9 ^could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
1 d( A: ?2 r2 f: X/ a6 _T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
5 d9 ^: V! ^& K3 G6 e2 v+ c* r, n4 Sshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
) Y, G" j, C% b4 C$ l4 K, rThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
8 u& t1 s' W# E! e" V: Tit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
) M7 ?' F! O: dT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
# J" L" G) {6 l2 X! utold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
# L! V) H+ ?6 l. `) ]  W& g" q" Vwoman 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
/ J4 \( {' C4 a; Whusband or her home again.
8 n* c- Y$ k% T. n, tT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
8 w* G# F4 m# y4 z& RThe 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  
) U% ~) W1 _# ]4 Q; ~- X6 Sfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
* P- q4 t5 a: e" Y) I8 Q! EEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
  Z8 K/ ?2 l3 f! g3 N8 J8 V; ?spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
1 X& z3 d6 L# ]5 }0 w0 [and many said that they would return..
, s7 |! X0 d6 o: t% X4 h2 r, p0 LOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
/ C3 o8 ~. h7 @* Q; Tfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
( b: y' I# Y8 R- a  }pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
6 c: Y" b0 r* lwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
- e9 z* \3 b/ L  g/ e9 othe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
% y9 Z& z: r: h% K7 `* B* n( T  gthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
4 w+ }/ K/ U/ \: T- c1 UH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
! j6 D( b2 C- ^supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
( Y2 E) g6 d2 u+ nput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
4 H! h' V/ s+ A. R8 O3 eagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
% ^. Y8 B- o& U  M- O3 B+ }6 r) ntake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
( d; U9 X1 ]6 v: C2 hIsland and to the same house where the pastor
. ~2 `9 |! R4 T. H) F' a, whad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
, ]& f. v2 o3 Q# p% d# |the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
2 _: t* D, u7 `  M( U' L. uT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
" {8 b1 B+ O" W8 j( hwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
' O" @7 A2 h+ Q1 F! a( V& J& EI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
+ L# x4 G/ ^6 \& V# E4 x# Nyou 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.
1 V- s& \- X' xS o when the road you're traveling seems
" X1 V/ d6 l" f1 X6 @difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
, V5 _' B6 z% ^$ F; E, G3 `to those you want God to bless and remember
% e9 m6 t; C: Dto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
5 i0 P( V! |" |7 P' q- L" qyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
9 E2 o* t" }; l* y6 `+ M9 Lyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
; s1 g: k0 r9 J' b. O) k' r+ useconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
0 f2 F3 Z' I  g0 y$ X+ S4 ysay the following small prayer for the person
- H6 M$ ?/ }$ M' Swho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
2 J. d) ^0 y3 _& V6 [6 Gday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
, U) d" o# d; s/ n) [! ], sprosperity and power as they seek to have a
1 \' o$ o( }  V9 u3 Jcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!