The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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! k3 D* f7 K, ~9 U% s8 X The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
' L; Y/ m8 S" `& Gto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
! {- N9 |4 ^+ z: Q3 c3 i$ Sexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
; [2 d, [! n6 r2 c6 Dtheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
* R& [5 q5 M, J2 m' Y0 h" Fdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
, I9 b. r1 R6 u  ]! u7 gT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
7 A. B! Q+ H. {& I% w4 B; g; Fpainting, etc, and on December 18
7 O) Z( D6 m' l. w6 ^0 ], m- J' fwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
4 Y. ~  Q7 }1 A, ?O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
9 q2 K# D( q1 F+ i* L! M$ a O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
2 p( {7 W/ ?0 M: ~& P$ _leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
; J. j2 Q9 r8 x4 P0 O+ U8 S# {; G20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
3 K3 T& K& @* i% q, W7 Y1 `T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
& O$ B- I- L( T. R" Mhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
+ k6 m# e. e- v& B+ h  J" l/ Vstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
) y% U' q9 T7 @7 c( m  ^9 Bhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
2 P; l- V; y8 G9 k3 ewith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
: X  a  t9 B# S: x* q( G9 F4 z: b- ?embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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' c: e2 J' u0 W# t! D" u1 ythe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
. K$ P, @  X+ d+ y! h/ q9 qB y this time it had started to snow. An older
8 U! d2 M' S5 ^+ Q" owoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
$ J- N' s  J0 u# ^invited her to wait in the warm church for
6 R+ Q+ ~) k% A/ B# _, ~* o/ f9 Uthe next bus 45 minutes later.

* q' U" y1 |  d/ m& |She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
4 U7 W% P$ r7 n8 K% K3 wup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
$ E  h4 p" o% {7 Acould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
% D: f6 I. }4 l2 V( T$ X7 P% RT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
7 S$ [6 o. s: H  uaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
# a% |3 C- g, f" k! q' K0 vshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
1 a; S0 G$ O& Bit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
8 n6 u" e) ^  }/ N# I8 zmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
, X3 L" ^4 c) ?7 y( ^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 .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
8 I" ?0 g1 e" i! ~Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
" z2 W9 I2 b2 A& f2 v* T6 ?He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
% E& C- b$ L) `0 l% Y- N" S# \5 ihusband or her home again.
3 c$ j! z$ u. x! f# }: Z$ Y7 x; iT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
: z3 Z2 t  `, j- g/ Mbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
# G% `+ U2 w3 |3 A* UThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ k6 g' n3 }( K4 J  T- l# `) Kwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
& Z; h) T& V) l9 Q) q( a0 U6 Lside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
+ i# |$ {5 e7 Sfor the day for a housecleaning job.
5 R9 u' T$ R: m- o) O* x* @' F/ HW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
$ L% e: @8 H/ O! A' |spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
( ]  E+ n* w7 {- cpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
) R! d+ e( ~/ pand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
8 u/ V' ^2 [6 T! K6 H! J' Mpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
, i. S5 N0 k- f. t& y! v2 g, vwasn't leaving.
8 N: v* Q& t0 i( X. lThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
& M1 p; h! I  Ithat his wife had made years ago when
/ H4 |) S; y6 P: }# tthey lived in Austria before the war and how
; e1 m. Y, a) G" |. jcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
1 ]3 U0 p/ c' d; x$ ]( NH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced 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
6 E+ ]& G% @- z9 M4 |again all the 35 years between.
/ T% X) M5 S# T0 ]3 }: pT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
8 ?) A6 y# |# h6 T. Itake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
$ H3 V1 t* @2 C* r8 v5 PIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
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.
7 _# E6 z# K5 f3 z5 o# wT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
+ N6 D* M8 I5 e; e0 E! fI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
4 W# E, }9 L) p5 H8 [: R: m: Iyou 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.
4 u' k  r$ e7 y- hS o when the road you're traveling seems
8 F' F' h% ?" G9 rdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
# A. W* M5 g- J* _) ], yto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
4 J& W+ X" o5 d' A, P/ Q4 s& X* tW 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
2 A5 M+ B# U) F/ c2 @; r; c/ `* r5 \say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
5 i  l9 Z! H0 Q0 fFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
: Q3 ]$ [" ^! ~& w% Never it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
$ v% ?0 l+ v9 T3 D9 c: Xcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!