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
' o# t! k: G8 o- J. ato their first ministry, to reopen a church
  z6 `) w9 y& E4 r8 kin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
9 W# w, J( a7 W$ X7 W! texcited about their opportunities. When they saw
1 p2 Q7 c0 B/ _7 K* u# C4 m# ttheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
" w3 A5 T. j/ W5 v3 ~; [6 Z0 O' Cdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
& D- R8 t9 {; Q, q* P$ ?# NT 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
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
) F' W) y: g) b' C' f6 P5 q4 \5 ZHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
' {9 q" `4 t# P0 ?9 r- k: _( z20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
% c* S4 ?9 W  V: V  W% |; B" Jof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
# q; C9 o9 f' G3 bbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
, X% `- U4 u- a" U8 O8 J: Othe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
* H' |  t2 N) \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,
5 B6 V7 T: N* |, c% l6 yhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
! g" R  T1 I) `4 F- R1 N* cwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
% y5 R) X- w; e* Y. T4 B) b* Hembroidered 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
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
" X8 k- ?, f! @0 [7 @' d: r4 Qinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

1 s/ i' O' Y$ d' L; FShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
$ L# D: F7 p' j# |while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
5 K0 \) t8 I8 Q" a' mcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
( a  O+ A) a( {5 mThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
3 D% [+ h, P) C7 G' A! `! k% pit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
5 H3 U$ |2 @) ^/ u6 a4 bmade 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
. C  M/ ?( m1 G3 Y1 j- Xher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When 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
husband or her home again.
1 v, x: t4 ~* ]% ?% @# u" z$ ~T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
/ X) e8 }  h# c5 }. _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  
2 @9 o. D8 ^1 X! Yfor the day for a housecleaning job.
, P. m- l& r9 C- qW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
( S: o; y4 I+ `( z9 OEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
8 ?# j6 Y9 X" b9 K7 a5 S8 [spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& u2 y/ m4 p( gpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
0 g# c3 i( Y" M+ ROne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
" X+ e# A% ]$ a% m  q# |& h$ hwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
: e& {5 G. u" J( Wthe front wall because it was identical to one
" w" b) x* E" sthat his wife had made years ago when
* t$ J4 d0 f4 Y: |they lived in Austria before the war and how
/ `2 ?4 a. |0 K3 `6 Scould 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
6 e5 y' v- i/ Z0 j$ x. L5 `supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
; l6 ?& _- H/ V9 pagain all the 35 years between.
4 v% [9 e# }% _% a# s! z& ^2 a3 PT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
; X( k3 K* ?$ e0 g& h1 B( E" w% ntake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
/ J3 r5 |2 r% I& _' y- D, f! ~Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
7 L* I+ o; f. P" d" l# |( rHe helped the man climb the three flights of
/ p  B/ {% F" @7 a( D* x3 _* ?stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
2 l, o; s" B9 G  ]$ Ithe 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.
/ f4 W& \* o$ U- ]# F# _# jI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
4 a$ G3 T( k+ t' \you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
* e; q, w6 |9 e! C4 w9 Apromises are true, and when we give Him all our
. u! b8 f- h/ _cares we know He will see us through.
, ?/ R+ H- u5 o. YS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
2 j, F6 ~6 A) l) ]2 fpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
& `' l, e2 A/ d8 bto those you want God to bless and remember
, e1 K* W- X/ _) Sto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
  Y0 [# t! f) E+ _" [you first.
0 l. _' P) R7 q) `9 J3 B4 u3 pW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
- ~% B8 R6 O& P% r) {2 gyou 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
' L1 j' K* F' y7 Owho sent this to you.
Father, 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,
* c- c5 X$ h- t6 s* V& X2 sprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!