The Tablecloth

propeller

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



The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
8 W' v( o: f+ O5 Z, r+ Fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
* H1 A7 m/ y$ `. Qexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
( r  d3 ]1 W, ttheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
2 \" |+ I0 i: l8 Q  d' ], O6 VT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
" l) r* u. `7 W0 z8 P0 Twere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm 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
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
# Q8 c) |% q$ u7 S& Z. ^of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
8 t+ O/ K/ e5 o6 n$ [beginning about head high.
. Y# K% Y, n2 c5 g* A1 k( a' xT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
2 N- l" P6 e9 G# A7 ?" _% qstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
3 [5 |4 T; P  _with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  






, Q+ R, S  D' j: r" j% P& @/ mthe 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
2 |* p% e: O- U0 N* ~8 uwoman running from the opposite direction was
" ?. }# ], ?7 P7 u7 r; |7 _( wtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
1 C. F% v7 P4 r* |4 m' M, b( ]invited her to wait in the warm church for
  ~2 ^7 n0 l* ]; }' G9 q9 ^the next bus 45 minutes later.
8 d+ g% U& B& A+ Q5 ^
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
& h6 z$ t4 Y3 j) gwhile 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 hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
5 d% {& ]% g5 R8 Y  g$ P) H. Qaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
" U* E* W0 H8 ythe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
* b# ]! V; y# G, z: [6 q2 B% w4 L5 K- Amade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
/ ]+ G0 i/ n/ l0 \2 M- dT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
+ v# h+ s# F. q6 Kwoman explained that before the war she and
9 H3 c; k! I+ f( M3 }her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
6 r, ?- `+ I  [# h) I
2 s  P! K7 f; v; t2 X$ x7 T9 [5 CWhen 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
) u  L5 E/ U% u# _# J  ]% r, Ihusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
( E4 K" P- s* W' ]but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
0 w) l( c. S# t# _was the least he could do. She lived on the other
9 A, Q" _3 k& N3 N% rside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
" k, l! }) f8 E3 A! bEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
% a, z: D  g5 F5 I: ?6 r; Tpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
5 q( B9 e# ^: J. g4 Q  J* S" L% ~and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
. R4 \  L2 ?: w# k0 Kfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
4 f1 a3 k6 [$ z: v5 J9 nwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
& ^, X( d! x  v# N1 h: Cthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
2 ]+ B5 x! h2 z% O6 dthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
; U( Y$ h  p1 k6 y9 d, ]" HH 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
4 K& }& V9 [. o9 q2 O( y  Y, U0 aput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
5 G; d! G! L* d, ~again all the 35 years between.
4 B& V& g9 ?/ }; N; iT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
- H1 [* U" Y/ R9 d4 s4 Rtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
/ P- ?/ x3 s' ?$ Z! p1 Z8 @had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
. a& `$ c; E( K5 \" ~+ Jstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
* N  b# H2 ]( Q+ k; X1 C' |the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
) P/ [+ T! B  u! @1 \. O3 Z+ f; zwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
2 f) |. i8 i. X& Tyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
& t3 Q( T3 R$ l, k7 J: n% talong 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.
7 j) F% [8 {$ R+ ?/ i: v! r# o) _S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
& k: E; g  m" B/ wpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
" w+ v* v7 v: ito send it back to the one who asked God to bless
& ]0 D$ f1 i! ?+ z* hyou first.
* x$ t2 q7 x: k; |W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
% B$ g6 t6 c0 ]1 {" v' ~  k& I4 T+ M# lyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
" T; E0 d% ?; n7 l7 bseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
# O8 ?7 Y1 C/ X5 g2 f# z# Nsay the following small prayer for the person
8 X, f0 s& I6 w! Jwho sent this to you.
# A0 P- x8 K+ }& XFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
2 D1 Q5 d7 k- z9 y$ q, X4 e0 M% {; rever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!