The Tablecloth

propeller

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


$ @; X% _# `: ~: _! E; s
4 \( P: p# P' X. G The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
7 x& l1 i+ h/ d! O4 Vexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
8 x+ `5 ~& S  ^8 F* f! Ddone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
4 y9 i5 p+ B) ^' A; S  B* O$ fT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
1 F7 `+ P' s: \; vHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
, @3 ]3 \) _) ~' F, H0 D: V$ ~20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
& j( w+ I6 B' X9 G# m! Ebeginning about head high.
* P/ `- n/ F* y$ [T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
# P- K$ [) Z( [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
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
1 O- c1 [# S8 U. u# C3 q9 ihandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
/ g& C  [. Y8 o$ j9 p8 y) fwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
) r, f& E. n5 u, u5 w





: D7 d/ [" C  Tthe 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
, h7 l5 D2 {- x7 \0 |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
while 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.
; x& f. ^! g% O9 s% k7 \T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
' w) D# V" O/ E2 j% t' tshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
+ q/ b7 S+ l- A; b4 ?% }1 |" uThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
9 e7 b  o, A$ m" [* sit 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
5 @5 C' n1 b7 L/ ~8 s. gtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
: Q6 H! ^& n1 [; ~0 q( J- k4 ]her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
) ]! x# z; F6 `9 c; Q
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
5 b3 L2 |/ J" |# z( U$ I6 f# [He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
/ g, @# o2 N: IT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
5 ^! j, E' }" @2 u3 c+ N/ ybut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ Y  [. n' T* b* X0 l$ zwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
/ r3 c0 e6 }: G7 V' u' ]! F1 LW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
. N; @& B; a9 f& q( W9 Dspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
9 `. O( ]1 x+ F: `9 [! C% gpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
/ i6 T4 ^( O# V6 X, _9 Wfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
1 ^' O% g$ P! l' s% l/ zwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
  q2 @+ V0 g) Zthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
6 s) a+ l; g# m  C; t5 dthey lived in Austria before the war and how
7 ]/ ?- u% C$ G/ C( Y! Zcould 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
4 S8 N! B2 R6 i4 e) t/ K( `" t3 Ssupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
0 g& E1 b$ X2 N$ Oput 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
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
) K: U8 E% _, c# ?had taken the woman three days earlier.
- {( }5 o3 a4 i7 Z# zHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the 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.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
9 ^. w! n3 y; J, {$ f" [you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
' j2 g' ~9 L: K: H% malong your way. His love is always with you. His
2 L; K7 a/ O- Hpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
; M0 y2 ]) y! w9 V- s4 o3 @cares we know He will see us through.
/ P$ {/ \* V4 }1 `1 Z3 ZS 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
) b% w% z1 B. u; [" ^to those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
- Q" j# y/ Q/ \9 ~you first.
1 {' p0 _& _7 OW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
0 j8 s4 _" S( h- Zyou 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
who sent this to you.
, x9 S- w4 r! {2 M- J1 d5 XFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
6 X7 Q% e2 d+ J3 H" _4 uever it is that You know they may be needing this
1 m7 |" R1 ~  X9 B8 i1 cday! 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!