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
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
, r- `& \8 s6 u$ Y% {8 xin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
& g$ p0 |5 p& ?( D: T) Rexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
( E5 I; x- R  L- r4 _# B& X) dtheir church, it was very run down and needed
' l+ e) p! a/ z7 w; d! t, Jmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
! o8 ^3 a4 z6 F" J. I/ OT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
% d" y0 ^+ j7 V% O; gpainting, etc, and on December 18
6 I  x7 i( X; _were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
$ E- ~4 [# o+ g! k. x) `6 Xrainstorm 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
& m! U  S5 W2 W  h0 gof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
4 L8 _5 h/ l3 F$ h4 N4 Mbeginning about head high.
" p4 M( K4 S( S5 q& D9 y4 dT 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
* T0 D2 m. r& I7 `having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
* V/ Y6 r5 A( b4 \( N" Ohandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
7 a8 l0 T$ l  d% g9 fwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
) H) _$ j0 Z: Lembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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$ w# j/ t+ P0 I



the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
! c  X+ N: u! B$ W, p+ RB y this time it had started to snow. An older
, ]) L, w* p5 \5 r2 V; Ewoman 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.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
& X( }) J/ o) ]% \3 J3 M! V. c4 Ycould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
1 G+ J7 g- ?* B1 Y3 f& F4 j/ W' x4 JT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
( h- m5 \! N- A4 ^aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
5 |( X5 e1 K; _she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
/ L" ^/ j, ~2 pThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
4 d8 H) P$ z- U& o0 d( \. v# mit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
6 ]  r& K0 Z) j% k8 j6 emade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
2 L) ~* i1 K( d* k4 Ytold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
# u6 c, `, ?. [8 Oher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
0 O6 P2 E0 Q& d. |/ F# y& r1 b
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
2 i0 v# X% v, kHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
8 _' E7 Q+ P; s- eHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
  C* S9 I7 A+ {& k( x6 lbut 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  
) N' @3 t# \2 M8 Wfor the day for a housecleaning job.
( O- u9 {* r; ?& E7 uW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
1 r( T- j4 A3 z* \! Cspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
+ i/ J! b7 o9 l7 o& ?! K% [pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
5 C4 H' ?! c4 O+ l$ L1 S  Vand many said that they would return..
/ t# v6 Z; s$ J9 h7 E/ e* iOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
. O7 ]2 U2 z% c1 r" J$ Sfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
' P& i5 n0 [, k6 }The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
. |+ G3 p4 o; Q: T7 dthat his wife had made years ago when
& ~1 n) Y% n* q9 E" Ithey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
3 A9 ?) K# ?1 e( c& ]' Gforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
2 ?* {3 h0 j5 X1 f/ R3 J- J0 hsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
- u9 M% b* U! \+ `1 a& @put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
! v- I4 o5 n% b* M: ~' Htake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
( H! Q- q  t9 ~' h) T$ ihad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
: u$ {) }3 r. u  T. Ostairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
/ @. Q* W- v! `( f# ], `! @the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
( t0 {# o- H) i0 Areunion he could ever imagine.
' @6 `" u2 v$ A5 L! p* E+ L4 U: ?T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
2 j- Q  V( c! v) e- h8 Awho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
1 |' r, h. H5 J+ w- o' ]& Z5 Dyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
/ {; t2 d5 Q) K, |& C- G4 _promises are true, and when we give Him all our
& V& _' W0 m( u& Z# mcares we know He will see us through.
! s  x4 A' B8 y+ J" xS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult 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
* ?3 c. |6 ]2 |4 ?  c5 R: kto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
( K  ~1 R" r: m" jyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
$ q5 w6 u3 w2 r. a9 M+ e, @you find out that God is all you need Take 60
! J0 T; ~4 p1 m" o4 M0 @4 Sseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
/ r# }( r; e+ G8 Isay the following small prayer for the person
/ r( N" h; L9 Qwho sent this to you.
- ~$ u0 \! I/ n6 W: D! N7 MFather, 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,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!