The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
& F' E3 [$ _, ^4 b  {


The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
/ {: B( p7 m9 a- l# d% ?/ Ato their first ministry, to reopen a church
5 a! \+ M5 [) X& }in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
% Y) R& ]- v: g! [  hexcited 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
$ J" e0 T% _0 B  t3 ~; E( Mon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
6 ?4 y& H, |2 mpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
7 t  f1 a6 J6 n3 v0 n. k) {) Wrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
+ V& x9 T" |2 _2 Z( k& ? O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
7 t1 J2 U  z3 c7 fHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
6 u; ^8 z$ Y: c4 P. y  {" R/ G20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
8 _; b6 Q) T6 k# E$ m8 pof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
2 g* K1 @" d1 V; Q8 j, o! |3 AT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
8 a! O# P* M: d; fthe 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
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
+ A' C+ {& ]* Z# D9 ?/ E% T2 Ghandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  



0 \% z, Q/ l) j% e% K+ ^

/ d# R! k1 W/ ~/ g) J/ @; m
. h8 A, ]# I( Ythe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
7 V  e" t8 H' `" hB 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
4 }  D/ o6 n' \! qthe next bus 45 minutes later.
& w  Y6 q2 T- d, L
2 {) Z2 D3 W. U5 mShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
6 t+ ~% H) o% Dwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
* z7 [$ E, C: Tup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
* H7 w5 j5 K' G4 V9 n" B; j) Mcould 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,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
; N' H* e! ?$ Y' M# O" T% k9 h2 E  C3 WThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
( N* u- j6 w7 o7 E' Q4 a# w6 ithe 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
) G- J6 k7 m2 |6 W# k& w( A# Tmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
0 `& y0 {" P: n- ]  kT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
( `7 a" @! A& U0 U+ itold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
& C9 g! C6 @; C' ]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.
' ]2 ^9 W/ ?5 K* i. _. n. T+ iHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
3 j$ E7 [" B. W1 V" Shusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
# f! V! f' a' e+ o; \9 l0 ?$ ybut 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
1 N! m6 O- V. m: v, pside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
6 L" ~8 j0 \# L# c8 LW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit 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..
# r- U! R) v+ p  z1 i0 vOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
) k( z; V9 @$ f8 E, h9 W3 ~pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
) K+ k; q) i) \* fThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
% V. o4 {0 D7 Q5 @: {4 S  B( |the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
) X$ \0 |) v* E1 l6 }they lived in Austria before the war and how
+ }! _+ j4 l: Hcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
# f# w  c& F: bH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
( c/ s; B& Q8 j" Q! H0 W6 nforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
- w( m& a- ^% X4 G0 W' c+ Pagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
0 u5 S* C7 Y7 n) a9 Y; ^4 p, Thad taken the woman three days earlier.
+ P1 }0 A+ t& j% C: k6 l$ X! `0 t- tHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
9 s6 F7 ?8 K0 b: D: a3 f$ wthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
" `) M" |+ I. W' m+ F& s% @reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
# f2 S( q4 g2 b) j: Iwho 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
7 g9 J  B3 U* E( [+ h8 D# xpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
6 u5 g  t7 y7 ucares we know He will see us through.
" H  X* s3 k7 b$ CS o when the road you're traveling seems
  a; m4 F( @4 Z$ p, j4 `difficult at best, just remember I'm here
7 A  Y. K/ w0 }7 F) dpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
  ]+ F2 D/ ~  V2 U% Z9 jyou first.
8 k7 U9 @" b9 w3 N* R; z1 n3 T- lW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
6 m9 }' F7 R. z: t* w+ J: ?" Pseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
5 ~3 u# A  N4 `+ Q4 R8 K+ ysay the following small prayer for the person
- S7 B# }- O3 Y4 B( M% b- pwho sent this to you.
6 o9 U' Z1 P* T, ^' MFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
7 `5 ?  K$ t- F4 zday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
% I: p" j' [" X0 Fprosperity and power as they seek to have a
% z0 D! p. _, [* d# kcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!