The Tablecloth

propeller

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

3 R! J  ~9 u0 t7 B7 h$ z

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
7 X* v- M* Y! L. s! C; R, hto their first ministry, to reopen a church
) g4 B, [- ~$ _% Hin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
; c  @# m! v1 F. V8 w6 z) bexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
, X. `6 u, e7 I: Z& @0 m4 stheir church, it was very run down and needed
/ w0 w1 }' X, q4 cmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
, m% K# f& U6 H- B" B2 gon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
' l- `& L) y& }8 g) J/ j: V! Tpainting, etc, and on December 18
) K( u) H  d' o8 H/ r' wwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
# ?  r2 ^2 q3 U6 b+ ]' krainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
& y' @& h, Y" j/ G$ SHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
% s  {) ]5 g& _2 ^" Mleaked, 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.
% M3 v  L( n: n4 ]" D! }T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
2 h* f: v2 p2 b! Z- xthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
" N1 S- X6 R$ R: R3 o% _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,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
) q3 p$ T6 b3 ~( ]7 p$ gwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  


: O! Y! ]& ^3 }8 @. O3 u- n

5 I5 ~1 o- V" {' ]6 }
5 l: Z1 Q3 d+ o" p7 Z
4 `' S4 d* ?' T' |the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
  G" S; {! b- `) R" {) \B y this time it had started to snow. An older
/ o5 k' k$ M" s) ~0 B( Ywoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
6 A1 R6 G) L* G" V8 {4 vinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
  r: z, j# @5 T  R. i. e7 I8 d3 u
, ?4 ]2 T4 U+ dShe 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
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
5 Z& b1 h9 [5 b5 t, V& PT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
6 |: ]2 M& ^4 }1 Kaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
  t3 ~1 y  r: e& m( ~- y3 p( n1 Oshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
& [1 S6 P( e$ z7 ]2 X4 tThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
3 S' f- q: ]5 W# Z5 m) lthe 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
  v% y% Y5 \0 W  l6 J! {' Hmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
* n: M6 \! Z5 s; |, G8 y% T4 oT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
; ~/ U4 D: ?% d8 w2 k5 P9 P- etold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
, ?$ u6 A" ?+ }" G) B) vher 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
3 I* C2 J, P8 r0 ^/ V. ]; `husband or her home again.
T 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
6 v7 l) T5 D9 o( l8 z3 W4 J! j; Oside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
! e, U+ M, [1 ^0 dW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
" M- W5 {3 P+ NEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
* C: p# n/ |- Z9 c' v: Epastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
8 A7 J* ?% C6 R9 U# j% P; A) g; Bfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
0 L- G8 T9 J, ~, F: z, I  ]3 Cwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
2 Z% ?/ m, `- \* Y8 }: ?& Ithe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
7 x& H) k; e9 nthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
* x; d0 J' a% R- oforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
4 ^8 j; J* V3 X& @$ p% \supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
" U) z# U# g' i3 m# f8 qagain all the 35 years between.
- c) J8 i7 [/ o1 z4 ]T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
; Q& J( a& d' O! ~& |take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
/ s% w) z2 u$ e% T, c, y" k# SIsland and to the same house where the pastor
; ^5 w* J) f+ q4 B: W0 J( [had taken the woman three days earlier.
2 c! y- M8 M* h: J$ K- {4 ~He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
) f; @; F) D: b& Y8 x2 }who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
* I' k8 ]$ @0 n* H6 `  p3 Oyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
% s# e0 {: Q/ \along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
' _$ c: a% x6 [' `0 Lcares we know He will see us through.
S 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
9 D1 ~1 P# a) G; Ito those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
* j8 {9 s, \! S6 {. x9 oyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you 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.
& X; K. e/ F6 j/ d/ i( LFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
8 H  b8 Z( e3 j' X5 T2 s3 Kever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
/ T( t8 a6 P2 J3 d% Pprosperity and power as they seek to have a
& L/ y  ^8 m, M) |closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!