The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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8 K; J* M: {; J( w/ {: Z The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
; L, X- S0 n" a. nto their first ministry, to reopen a church
$ f, y9 D( n/ T: Pin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
4 Y% |; l- i' q2 V* Fexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
: s# M: m' i" Qtheir church, it was very run down and needed
0 @8 w2 i9 b" g/ p5 lmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
& a$ e$ y& T" `4 W: v0 xon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
; c, s/ h2 f+ u& zO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
; \4 n/ d" R9 o1 `rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
: _+ F/ v- |$ l$ M O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
* ?0 m8 n1 O4 i' Y5 f& Ileaked, causing a large area of plaster about
0 ^$ W! x5 f( D" \) z$ @4 A20 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,
1 p6 z3 a* _( n4 qand not knowing what else to do but postpone
( g( l$ w! ^, W) J. w/ vthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
4 V' o' h+ a! M( E& _; b8 ~On 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,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
, b2 j1 n- q7 n9 }6 }7 e  B2 k5 k& dwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
/ }* w  s, Y5 O5 k( O# a3 Uembroidered 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.
B y this time it had started to snow. An older
( s# m7 s2 |3 x% D5 W' C0 kwoman 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.
5 O& H6 N/ X+ r! q4 ~9 ^. d  D  i
9 U* p- s$ u1 K" HShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
9 }6 r% I. [$ W; v  Qwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
& b. n+ v3 _; Y; D# N2 X8 Xup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
& f7 J9 i+ J/ D5 s! V2 e7 ?6 Z3 pcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
* A" R8 h( T) X9 nT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
0 C0 Y, y  `( X1 ushe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
& B& d. l7 p, ^+ \. A  @/ UThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
6 ]' I& j9 Q5 u3 N4 O/ Uit 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
+ a1 g. O0 B6 r; Xtold 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 .

% a# W5 u6 K; u" m9 MWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
$ |5 G/ ^6 }. u: k# H/ N: V! H& I) jHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
0 l% W: d4 }. U( u3 |He 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.
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  
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
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
$ c1 F6 R) l9 Mand many said that they would return..
6 a% Q' ~1 X2 k3 d) J3 b$ DOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
3 R! x: `  P& tfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
; l5 i" j* O) }( ?6 awasn't leaving.
, @  A( e. P2 l" \. {  H5 P8 g7 fThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
4 u0 o$ R. n/ u) Ythe front wall because it was identical to one
" r! E% q$ C7 Z1 }- a# h" nthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
6 _5 r9 S- G! t) C* m" Rcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
# r/ v. b# W: EH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
) D. R9 A$ ]; o6 sforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
/ L7 R- X9 U) _! usupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
  w9 z( L6 y3 r, P% Zput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
0 U" |& K# {, }6 I% cagain all the 35 years between.
. S9 [3 a; y1 W& K. P; aT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
5 g, l: o( q) x  fIsland and to the same house where the pastor
0 @3 x% M* j& Q% w( _) _had taken the woman three days earlier.
8 `9 T. ]0 S, q+ a' _' d6 mHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
" s, S4 y) @) `# v6 othe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
, _! r! ^) A0 Y8 R! M, _who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
  ?- V% R# d2 N3 Kyou 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
0 l- N; @, F! O) D, h" n' ecares we know He will see us through.
; n- U$ x9 f2 W+ V* NS o when the road you're traveling seems
  v0 k, @- x$ h: qdifficult 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
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
4 P9 I" o; N) Y: l9 s$ P! C1 {you find out that God is all you need Take 60
7 ^4 h% Q5 R" I' zseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
& N; d+ j6 P2 P2 h6 a' wFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
( ^6 ~* ]+ B, J# Aever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
/ H" ]6 S3 \( N( Z" Kprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!