The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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1 b1 }& R/ i5 d6 ` The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
; Q7 k! N' }1 Q( f9 _to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
9 b; C* o8 p2 h7 \excited about their opportunities. When they saw
* E4 ]: i0 v8 L% Q+ mtheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
: z. l6 E1 ]; ?done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
; U5 S  d3 J1 \T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
  Q: r: X: I; C# f- m+ i& fpainting, etc, and on December 18
) Q  T6 M% R: i! Z6 r$ Y- }were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
5 O( |- o& p4 E  |- \% Z* Rrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
- j  o& }/ f( W: q: ]  w O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
; n8 p: R2 `+ Z  pleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
6 S: l( ?7 z; D, Wof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
, J( E$ X* R7 p& m; S+ WT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
/ T& L* d; m7 Q/ S: ]# Qand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
- I' |. i) b9 _( Y! eOn 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
- y# C- R! r4 fwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
9 R/ I* O1 L5 x; R9 A, |embroidered right in the center. It was just  



" e% z8 y6 Y0 ~
$ N. |) v/ A" K$ ^

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
( s5 |5 v) c% S8 hinvited 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
6 ^$ K+ |2 Y( z) K3 y; c5 ewhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
* U1 ]3 O/ i. s6 R  R( `% s) ^3 cup 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
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
% {7 r: N) A6 C- `2 Gshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
: f* \0 T: ~$ rthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
0 W0 L* [4 ?' a% l- A* v& Qit 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
# j" K" T+ G2 c; Gtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
- j0 z9 ?' ~7 f# 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.
+ v5 ^" b" N1 N. _- }* _He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
1 d$ `" ?; _" kT 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
% Y/ j7 f4 f( z% qwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
0 [. u: ]. E& h+ K# \side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
  k( L* ?' U3 f) bW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
. m. H' F' y: Q3 {spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
, k# A4 |+ ]. e* d) w* Rpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
2 u+ w9 W6 j& ^: e) O) [; a& Vand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
7 `( _, r8 U, D" `pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
6 q6 C& c1 o2 A- f5 k1 U9 `( I1 ^3 gwasn't leaving.
7 d4 w, F3 G) I: |The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
: G6 w8 [3 ?: q/ X+ K3 {, G9 I8 q9 h5 nthe front wall because it was identical to one
2 K* z5 W/ m) Ythat his wife had made years ago when
" W- R% K2 g8 h5 C; R1 z# Pthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
$ ^0 W2 a& d3 x/ ^7 Y) SH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
% ^2 |+ K3 X: _- pforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
2 X' d, m& z; F$ r6 S, Vsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
* c+ w5 W7 B  @1 l: ?5 qput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
4 W9 Y4 x5 P4 `5 p& V. _: eagain all the 35 years between.
3 B: S+ `+ D' Z5 V6 Y) s: ZT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
& x# W, a3 n2 }9 Q' D- `0 ctake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
9 f9 ~! L: @! ?2 @" g( a0 I3 W! cIsland and to the same house where the pastor
1 D8 C- @8 P' S6 b) c( ^) J) y$ ehad taken the woman three days earlier.
' p( ]7 l! R+ ~8 g1 wHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
4 L9 \& C$ O5 W$ `; J- p& |the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
# _* F0 T& r* |; X. r- [/ h; nT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
3 M6 k) B3 K3 f8 q! Qwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
" s  ~: B  z& H3 q& Fyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
( t! Z7 a+ ^7 {, d) |% E- Rpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
! U4 ?  c  l) S& zS o when the road you're traveling seems
, L, v, s4 a5 J$ h: ~- u1 Z! _5 jdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
# q; g" g) J' C7 Apraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
' P$ Z6 b; C8 q5 h4 g" lto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
' L! ^5 }/ }: ~; q, v# i: zyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
! W/ M  h5 @  E, A4 kyou 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
% p8 L8 \# P1 ]* s+ |. wwho sent this to you.
) o7 z: {6 b/ e( s2 _' _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,
' r; a. ?( ^: s5 ?# Cprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!