The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
" s5 Z, X8 c% |* |to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
, Z9 Q" p3 z! yexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
- M6 M- J) }4 N0 }: g7 f2 Dmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
. u& O# |5 ]. g: |% Jdone in time to have their first service
. u- l, H1 z  _4 u( B0 X$ von Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
" z( f1 B$ m  |/ n# n0 Jrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
/ n! p9 L$ v, V: ]1 M/ C O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
0 S+ s5 B8 {6 H) B+ Cleaked, 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.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
3 \/ @, T" O+ m, ]  Nand not knowing what else to do but postpone
' i, I% {* j6 othe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
0 O3 k% r) L; ?$ ]/ R' D0 uhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
3 C: k& p7 o  ^# }# Hembroidered right in the center. It was just  
. R2 o; k  ?8 v# c: v

3 u1 T( Z' @/ x6 E+ Y/ I. V4 |3 z
5 i/ J6 G; V& |; t& N: G) e

: g, ?5 I& u9 \. }
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
9 [! A1 `+ o( W  H0 w' G% W0 \% SB 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
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
6 Q4 {! }0 o! Xup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
" x% r0 V% v  w, t6 [$ y' Scould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
8 ?7 A7 l3 N: q) R* ^! {8 O% Eaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
" J* S/ N$ b/ Rshe 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
! B6 t4 @0 G6 C/ X, Fit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
5 j( w) v- U( f, ?made 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
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.
& ^6 e9 d: a! s) b( ]Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
( g& |" m# H9 s2 phusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
6 R" n( u! C- ebut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
: I3 ]8 D/ T# q# T3 aThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
* b5 F0 [* ?# c: L2 O4 Aside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
* ?+ }; z; A+ n) D$ ~for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
7 d! b/ b5 w1 h9 {5 N/ TEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
- C1 n6 i5 D. H! ^& Espirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
" }# _" O. p! cand many said that they would return..
' K, x  o4 d* o' h3 |% p1 w, }One older man, whom the pastor recognized
3 k% V) ?% y4 o0 P' H& q; a# ofrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
& N1 ]8 V$ c, n, ~# j7 L* Y: }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
, t/ n) P. x* j7 R7 F* Z$ D8 kthey lived in Austria before the war and how
5 g/ d# u4 ]* C' r' m  ^( Fcould 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
& ]* A; }8 c3 m/ {* q2 [supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
8 z: g2 C0 M" z* x9 v6 W" d/ E1 lput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
' K" M9 Q$ a# n1 ^& sagain all the 35 years between.
: S: P* o: g0 D) H! JT 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
% w. K  P3 N) j0 Qhad 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.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
/ f( E! F8 ^/ j8 D7 @5 v; {who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
; M! V  U1 e: N+ a! R! I; C  hyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
2 g% A# x& N0 s5 U# ~+ }along your way. His love is always with you. His
5 u5 k5 |4 J9 A( Fpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
" ?% O, ]* W1 ^* Rcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
% s, b1 G$ J' Gdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
  z7 a3 A5 z9 B9 Q, Upraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
7 g8 \+ \3 L* L$ B2 Tto those you want God to bless and remember
- }* H3 ~* R1 gto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
; r  {3 n+ i. x2 v! ^% Gyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
  e, j, ~# N( e7 Dyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 N, I* F/ m3 O; q; \seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
- H/ z  a+ C8 g  ]/ sFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
/ r" G2 w  @& R) T  z/ E6 yprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!