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
5 Y) P7 x( c7 Tin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
1 F  l, G8 g& Jtheir church, it was very run down and needed
; n. z' ^- B! U# \. cmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
/ T6 w# I- k) W5 g' \& Fdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
2 d- D8 k% l6 Z$ a+ T- qwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
. v) l& K; b8 \. k" I+ C  f# x1 k( A9 T% Mrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
( _; J' z9 \0 h/ D- @, E2 gHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
( }- H& O4 j5 X  S3 k! w& Uleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
6 s& \7 n% Z1 C& `6 w. wof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
# R) W4 ^/ N1 V, r* a4 p' cbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
) a4 F+ r( w+ F# V- x' N( }and not knowing what else to do but postpone
& j/ b# [' k' C" q+ dthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
/ m1 ?& u1 a7 BOn 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
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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0 [5 Y; p; H0 q% M+ @; R, Lthe 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
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
. d0 r* ]1 _0 ~# N& k8 Nwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
  Q3 S( n2 }1 F; _, D9 Aup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
( g8 ]* D2 u8 I( Z6 w& fcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
" b7 R0 k  r: Y2 w+ Z( s5 O' IT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
1 W5 m. }, ]6 I' Y9 A# U; C; \aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
* y* p5 J3 \* S8 q5 p6 F4 pThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
, z# C0 D9 l8 m' T! P8 dit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
" d$ S5 ]  ^2 Q. Nmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
) z* A& @( `5 h) MT 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
8 l* [6 S- G: R- w# D. Jher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

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
& d, a7 ~: U+ |3 B7 U  F) chusband or her home again.
. ^" t0 N/ t- U7 q) ST he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
: G% ]; x& B# [$ ~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
1 K+ a3 S5 r2 H/ A. E$ l; Uside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
% _9 w6 P2 r* o3 lEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
# V/ j# T  j: X& K8 G, y, H- ?5 U: hspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
2 m  q; V4 [6 G2 c9 y2 R; ?and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
# p9 q5 G: {; w6 v  _# t9 j' Cpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
2 X" l/ @% W# E: y0 V9 L4 C! J8 Lwasn't leaving.
: ~) a: f% E& s( @The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
# F" q, q& {) Q# z. o  Gthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
2 G) i& p; g1 F- O/ l: h$ N1 Athey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
3 a5 R5 Z5 C! [- uH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
' M$ S/ H9 c% ^" ]% o9 [supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
3 ^! [; B6 K2 e; F8 [$ S+ P, F0 nput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
( z$ |5 t. d7 J. d+ Eagain all the 35 years between.
: U5 t6 n: w  v: h$ }T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
5 o+ s+ Z2 @$ E7 [Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
. c4 c0 w' `2 g: s/ kthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
7 ^* Z+ O6 b: A7 Z: |! FT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
7 I+ t, C+ |: P7 {I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
) e: N8 v5 i# a0 u! C% s3 G7 ?you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
! [; {, k! W3 w* E0 G/ Calong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
/ V3 i8 P5 [$ n0 gcares we know He will see us through.
; v- j; K) R+ DS o when the road you're traveling seems
/ X$ a9 y4 \. \3 V$ ]difficult at best, just remember I'm here
6 k" ~+ F4 k- _  q! L1 U% rpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
9 x0 j8 N: i- Y) ^" r) [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
5 x+ o. j- n2 Fyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
+ [& w8 v  U* X) lseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
$ v1 y$ f: h7 X) Qsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
' O8 u$ v* F/ m, Q5 n5 D5 l! u# BFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
$ b5 M6 d  l' T9 v% \0 G* Y: A% {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
& P3 j* v: g7 B$ V2 P9 Ecloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!