The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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  Y* V8 @# {5 O% x( K, A The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
" u! u2 H: O" M5 I; X# _in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
4 {7 ]+ `$ D. K, T+ `- \( W2 Mexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
; F0 \. a  R7 q; \' [2 W8 S9 r5 ?their church, it was very run down and needed
- b8 C- b+ b& E& Mmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
! V; V  J; t1 a' y  ?on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
4 M$ w4 }5 ?6 B* swere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
" Q4 [( Z' ~: sO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
0 \3 f9 A* O: o. ~rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
: M. w' }2 B- Q4 uHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
% V7 H/ \0 {8 _- Q$ t' G20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
& c! ^- I; x& L. U  hbeginning about head high.
# g3 S5 F0 h2 a8 C  UT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
4 X. o1 [2 m" A9 H3 tthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
- O9 u$ _2 p8 Z$ Q0 Q- bhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
( |5 G0 N: S9 O, vhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
  y1 ^$ n  |# X2 lwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
6 [( d0 J8 ]8 Y  f2 oB y this time it had started to snow. An older
+ U2 G. Y3 f1 u  H# {7 g* Iwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
4 Y" `1 @7 z; }' k8 O: x5 Cinvited her to wait in the warm church for
8 o8 A) Z  B0 Y; F) x9 Othe next bus 45 minutes later.

& h3 }( D: `8 Y5 J# }She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
+ y" L/ l- I' r3 Fwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
, n' @2 O3 c" h+ 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?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
% Q9 T7 L+ W. m8 fit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
8 o* D# U- C9 d5 G  a  e6 QT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
; p& s, H4 {; D% ]: i  J# Twoman explained that before the war she and
% A! F  q: \5 R' x* Kher 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
( g6 ?, y* n9 x, W3 Whusband 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
. P  p! _6 V, X$ J0 h; i$ w5 `was 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.
* l0 H. F! r" q/ RW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
: B& L9 H, z" p5 D9 |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
- A# x2 q2 y* Tand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
, ^; K" o( [3 a4 qfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
: @# }$ n, [. E# h' Hwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
# `( r6 J. i9 _3 e, Y8 {4 u) A- l- nthat his wife had made years ago when
1 C( ~- a3 M$ G( `% Ethey 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
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
3 v% q& R' L6 D* ssupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
& \1 D$ h6 K0 a4 A. v, A* hagain all the 35 years between.
& ?* Q7 z& `+ u. @- KT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
" ~* S6 Z. R0 m7 e" E- ?Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
6 v4 L; D0 T$ S. F! lstairs 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
who 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
, D! R* f: M/ x. d0 r* D) i, @along your way. His love is always with you. His
( d1 G( m  H2 L1 n4 P1 M" H* w  K3 zpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
- D1 e! m  c0 K0 l4 v( g# R9 rS o when the road you're traveling seems
/ }* g; W1 |  K9 L  Bdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
5 ]8 e7 D& M* S- \# @praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
+ F6 i1 L2 G9 ]1 C% Sto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
, Y% y/ d/ f; y, s: L$ Yyou first.
& t, o. F: y# ?9 J/ yW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
" H0 I8 F5 {! H& z: p! T/ C- g5 ^seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
5 y, {3 y  E4 T# X5 KFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
3 U: y1 @# R- R3 L- a2 @' xday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
. P  q4 r' |: A& n9 Q: @0 X% _4 acloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!