The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
2 @1 H$ J7 r' L3 v


: D& F9 E8 @7 E) r 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
% V! L" d1 y9 _4 Mtheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
7 n7 ~) b$ I' h% \$ z7 odone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
& q" B' Q6 s7 ?6 hwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
% q- A- `! `" C5 B1 Z8 s( S+ FO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
8 m. a1 r2 b$ T6 X, O$ V& ?9 G7 K O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
( f. C0 R5 W1 y) w% C" G4 wHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
8 v" O( k( v  e8 `5 D7 kleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
7 G. ~9 L% I# D$ s6 T1 N20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
' Q% H" L( o  o) ~6 Ybeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
$ u& h, H8 W8 A; Q: i0 Xand not knowing what else to do but postpone
; E% {8 M  R: q' D* nthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
7 K9 q# F5 k5 ^, XOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
% G3 O$ Q- B6 {( @# astopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
/ G8 u0 R7 d7 wembroidered right in the center. It was just  

  W; B3 S0 |' m
5 O2 l' }7 \1 X1 t4 ~  `! f: J- x
& f6 T( D1 ?, S+ f- H% o3 x' N+ N+ D

, u) `* x# ?  |: R5 }" b- H, T! ^
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.
- T2 Y2 C. Y7 R/ P" b7 S
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
- K; H% r  o! X% F7 r" o: Wwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
8 H3 j2 o. a) P9 dup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
3 e* q& x1 E; H4 Q6 KT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
4 j1 D7 L% X( q* raisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
* |( Y: V4 Z5 G% i1 Q1 Nshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
0 e/ g3 l( O/ H/ [4 y5 wThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
3 `  R( X0 c% n) [) B( Rthe 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
& Y/ X& Z7 F% S' i9 N9 Y; l+ ~made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
( V7 C5 w& t" A( Z( X  R' TT 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 .
3 T' u; s3 t1 g4 e( r# d
5 D0 k! {, _) \0 Y: P8 ?& N, V& rWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
2 u# b* `. y+ P2 f0 @- @$ {Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
1 K( K1 N: m2 T/ E7 I" U' zhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
# U% f4 X* n' Vbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
" n0 K  B! X% |9 D4 \( V3 u. w2 FThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
, m; z  T0 V: n* Fwas 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.
2 o: O7 b  ]& a0 AW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
% `9 m% f0 X" C" @3 b! h5 E% P: Fspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
; Y: S2 u! j6 Q3 S. m0 ~pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
% r/ _/ f/ }$ A. {$ U+ ^* Z( dand many said that they would return..
, K4 t( y2 N! |- e0 }1 ^- V2 @One older man, whom the pastor recognized
! E" V# g. O# O) s( L8 Xfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
1 e* T1 [4 D- B' \5 s0 {pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
7 C3 ^3 G+ x' R5 s% {wasn'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
they lived in Austria before the war and how
8 M; u5 A( W8 v4 C+ @1 T$ Vcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
( d' s" @; ?/ D6 [: ~7 SH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
, }! j# b# p; a; j7 ?. D; Esupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
1 M1 m  |1 {+ qput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
  t6 _9 n/ z0 g+ ~' F* ~again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
" t, D0 P. q  y+ ^5 e6 ztake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
  j' ^; `' U8 b7 }4 Q: C* U* iIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
" q( L) D" ?) @( Bstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
9 j% z9 @7 s' D$ Ithe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
% a3 B" I- A3 w, o$ b4 Greunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
& \* l# m1 F* d+ W  Rwho 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
) V1 ]) I- O% B6 q  [' A( ppromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
: ?. Q, `9 a2 l! hS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
$ U. |  R+ Y+ F& n% ^to those you want God to bless and remember
: ~, i( }" R8 W- ~$ Oto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
! B$ k0 @' o' T  _) W1 a* {you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
0 b6 M% A% x$ h2 n7 Zyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who 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
8 T; N  z0 q) n; V! S) Bday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
: k# H+ v9 V' [( C. c5 zprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!