The Tablecloth

propeller

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



The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
" @  P/ m8 k8 M, Kto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
0 c/ Y7 I/ D' k$ |8 @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.
6 w" d7 n7 T7 s: \+ A6 pT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, 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.
4 i' Q2 Y7 }# |5 G O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
1 y5 s4 I) F" @2 qHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
7 R4 F- t7 Z1 R7 M. m# lleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
; S* Y& l7 W, c  x6 ]5 i8 ~8 _! C20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
4 B6 j8 L4 ]+ U6 k- A5 S9 C& pof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
6 j% B& ]( @9 n* w) r% V# vthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
# ?( \, y2 y3 KOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped 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  
& u% _5 ^5 ?4 B; m+ Z

  ~* Y9 s8 z: _: R



- Q* a+ o; B' g% J1 p% H; ]the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
( Q$ c2 _, d4 H6 @5 M+ v+ OB y this time it had started to snow. An older
( g. }+ o' T% n" j" n. l8 E& wwoman running from the opposite direction was
8 D/ S" _& K* ]# ltrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
  {' H- Z7 L! Q6 K/ o1 q. }" H0 Kthe next bus 45 minutes later.
, z, ^$ f0 M! L$ h  W
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
. I* D- g8 S0 X' X& F# U! }$ `while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
; ~( y2 g0 ^9 \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,"
: e+ b5 w7 R* p+ ?she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
/ Y( o1 b) x- p7 g$ @The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
0 I7 u: }7 |$ k7 W+ d: Xthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
( q! U% z4 N. A4 r& @it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
- e' M% A9 a7 Vmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
( e( F1 j+ h- A9 K7 g# wT 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
) P8 D& ~! E. f- u' K% A9 R" ]her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
4 M! M7 z2 p5 ]' ~- X9 N& p+ X0 Y7 T
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
& Z' ]2 u3 N) oHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
' f) n  K" y9 D2 bbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
  Y4 u: E; q/ D& _6 p  Z; GThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
3 ]' O: g& ^( M4 P; ~% `  C( N, s. qwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
; z  ?. y- D- s# Vside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
& h' D- W; \% r+ s3 r" KW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
: b& Q1 I7 Q4 UEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& s2 ?  L" d) z3 L+ T8 K$ wpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
( n  M* T, a6 |and many said that they would return..
: W$ W5 @" \" ~, M' y1 _; COne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
0 B& Y  C  O# e" cThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
2 D- u9 f" G# m5 c8 }( j- F2 dthat his wife had made years ago when
) d( U2 Z) y' [; b/ Qthey lived in Austria before the war and how
- |  m" R$ P! dcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
* w" P' p( E  x6 Z1 c# y1 eH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
0 A4 b/ n4 K, G4 j& qforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
& e- W8 c* {: `5 @put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
. \" K! i& \9 {) Z* zagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
6 Z9 K3 Z8 w( Q# L/ Htake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
- e+ g! E' q! t, ?3 n$ g+ Z( EIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
3 T) f; I7 o# ~. istairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
3 n0 l/ Z( `% T0 ^2 Bthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
- [+ H) I6 \# c! g7 b/ r! Ireunion he could ever imagine.
T 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
: ^6 h8 g+ M0 @. I/ f4 F1 G' b, C0 L" Pyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
: K! N" ~# R8 w) `) c/ E( n  calong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
7 N! E3 R: W1 Fcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
% ?/ o9 Q2 ^; e% p  O. z, P6 hdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
9 E7 o5 _. G& `# Q! Oto those you want God to bless and remember
: L" u9 u+ L- r0 ?3 [( l5 Y' rto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
, U) y% w. V* n: A! }9 Xyou 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
. c6 J) y+ e5 D1 V( Owho sent this to you.
! y& t& m; @& e* s4 U1 SFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
6 J) x, [+ f- ^# j. }* w4 w+ ]day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
5 O5 n+ s3 D9 u# X3 q% q1 Q% i8 C% Xprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!