The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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; l; k$ \/ b  G8 G  x% {6 X The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
; `$ G0 X4 C( ^% N9 T- w2 `% dexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
/ ]# l7 Y$ O% ^, k1 O) C! d, ]their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
0 |" ~; g+ N$ b# ]done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
0 [1 |2 B& |3 {# {) AO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
3 u* @) e' M$ B0 T: w/ l, Urainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
0 {/ R% K0 @) E+ n" B' n O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
4 }+ o  G3 s. z1 SHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
4 G, i8 g" @" s& q* O0 K2 H9 Oleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
! H3 }8 O& r# j/ Q4 hof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
' V. s! T2 P2 bbeginning about head high.
6 p. c  Y+ i8 r' B/ M! jT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
1 o% {9 _$ c/ m8 Bthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
$ F2 c$ ^* l/ h& O& \7 u) K$ Uhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
' O  O, M& y0 }0 u9 Dstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
' a3 O# C6 q5 V1 c+ |with 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.
1 \, q3 B/ B6 {: q4 Z5 K& Z: XB 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
the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
! e6 m6 e( X) b) h  k% R( Fwhile 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.
; t" m  ]. ]; y  @0 g4 a3 P8 h  }T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
/ V3 V2 s8 K" k( Baisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
6 y8 e3 R+ l. k, F+ d7 Pthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
# {. H$ p7 W3 U) q5 A- k* S) Jit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
8 b3 V- ?/ b0 Z3 g* c( Utold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
- P& S: N$ d5 Y& {9 W( `her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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7 R3 E7 A! e, i& ]  rWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
- \+ W  a8 P, Y$ |Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
8 G& @0 F, X, z, ^( S! VHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
( h& S7 ?/ r$ v6 c* jhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
4 ^% O. B) O* f  Kbut 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
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
: D# c  I& q7 ]( E; J) ?1 hfor the day for a housecleaning job.
+ n, ~1 \7 L3 B1 @W 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
* o4 K! M* t# Z: Z3 Apastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
; O; J- e" N. Z9 X8 a  Oand many said that they would return..
One 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.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
" F$ ~5 q2 T4 Athey lived in Austria before the war and how
6 m/ r" A- j. g0 ccould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
, J, e6 h* s) dforced 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
1 W7 J2 Z3 M' i. z" V+ J* p4 H6 T9 Lagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
! k  `' L4 G+ I% b! B: btake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
: R/ C! R6 N; i1 T& W  Y/ oIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
. d; W0 Z8 L' r: d+ n! zHe helped the man climb the three flights of
, x9 k) h  N+ \* {' Istairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
$ _1 D3 ~, m; _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
# c- a2 a8 b) i8 i  `# T! z, d$ Ryou 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.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
5 l, d6 e8 C5 _, {+ jdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
4 K7 `- e- _0 {2 Ppraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
( [2 [: j, @6 I5 Nto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
7 j# v# q- z3 i+ b: x9 t$ l) L4 y* wyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
: d$ I+ A/ M- b4 j+ wyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
. S* {9 _) J1 ?8 b' Osay the following small prayer for the person
3 Q2 U- t# b) W# l' h4 K2 ^' e) Awho sent this to you.
; y5 ?3 }8 o1 I+ Y7 TFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
- J/ w8 w0 m4 [' L; S5 y# Fever it is that You know they may be needing this
) ~' `+ \) ?) A1 Fday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
+ C& m( k  e# S' ?# _, i3 J$ ecloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!