The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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4 Z, c. {" \) f, h& _ The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
) F: a, ^0 J1 _their church, it was very run down and needed
/ t* ?; ~) f5 B3 q% E# s. Vmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
, y/ e$ d: I* y3 kdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
  v% @  v  p8 G" |% fpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
' d. j3 v/ E" Prainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
, z& w/ x1 `+ u0 b9 sleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
1 `1 m$ f5 Q1 Z# Tof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
, o4 u9 i: Z& I* ]4 l- D" L5 g& F8 p0 hand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
' ]* j, d" q- h3 F4 M4 s' G8 zOn 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,
) E/ u* x2 \0 jhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
2 \$ s6 X- R, R0 |$ \6 Vwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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3 b5 T: y+ ~. i( g: u, V1 z5 m
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the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
' n' F* ~  f" lB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
7 d) X4 m  ^# E- rtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
. @1 m5 J" d' y3 Q6 [. r9 l5 zinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

- R" R& ~4 I$ cShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
! P  R: s6 j( `9 X, [while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
$ j# \: y4 D2 kup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
. w, c8 r3 J8 ~could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
5 S! W& Q2 {, z3 t# i- yaisle. 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
0 z, E/ R5 }" Z" }it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
9 B% m1 G/ b9 ymade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
9 [4 v9 l: A! e7 {  Awoman explained that before the war she and
" |* J: K& k$ [$ P, t) |her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
+ i9 f9 D$ x1 c  ?9 N! vHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
, O* L1 B  G" q/ U8 x6 xHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
! U; {9 E* c/ e/ l; p$ A" ]4 n9 ?The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
! @, W4 c& J4 g/ y' t! ?; V/ x: q1 J$ Uwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
( w1 y, A0 T; J0 U' Mside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
8 F' E; Q0 W  v2 E# ?- yspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
. n5 }/ g7 F2 _9 m4 r6 ^! x/ wpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
* J' Z9 T3 Z* o& e2 Qand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
0 B  ?- m* D& u# g3 y. bfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
' F) o3 A0 S9 H1 z% H6 \1 b4 Gwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
* w% ~4 v5 x6 a$ I1 Ethe front wall because it was identical to one
/ K4 n3 Y8 ^9 M. x( c7 {( v8 Kthat his wife had made years ago when
* `% w, q, w, H5 ?1 lthey lived in Austria before the war and how
0 q5 v9 I3 O$ ~% }. Z- W4 Ycould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
3 i. |+ y1 X  O& _: P" yH 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
5 I, ~5 ^2 O9 _  j; K5 q, {3 ]3 S$ vput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
6 \" f: S: O7 B4 P: @' g! u4 A  B; Sagain all the 35 years between.
: r/ |# w+ o' e% p- L4 P  c* ZT 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
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
; B: k9 L; A& P- V0 Mthe 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.
% `  s* V4 {. a3 sI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
4 Z$ d1 P) H9 u  G) myou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
, r  ~4 u$ X3 e/ upromises are true, and when we give Him all our
, f: A! Z1 \- U) Scares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
9 v- |4 Q/ I' x' Ldifficult at best, just remember I'm here
; @7 {: q! X$ Q2 Z3 Rpraying 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
you first.
5 K8 |  j0 Z5 ^6 k) X( [0 X3 nW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
. z- o/ A- P1 `+ wyou 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
: ^  j9 b7 P0 {5 q  P, Bwho sent this to you.
! {' ~! T3 c. }! dFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
( P8 f% T2 @7 F0 k- b, G0 f* fever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
" v( \) P( \, Z0 o9 `% Tprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!