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
& E# l6 i9 ]+ x! lto their first ministry, to reopen a church
$ c! i! F# R( Kin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
, G+ b% s4 F: ~1 k  Texcited about their opportunities. When they saw
( o' k6 V1 m$ ^, O1 @) j% e9 itheir church, it was very run down and needed
1 Y" A4 ~0 |6 ]' |+ s3 Q6 L( B8 s& |much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
& h( _0 R8 z! N1 Z3 X6 |on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
5 ~) K* n8 p' o% [# Vpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
9 \& t# B5 r) xO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
6 g# X7 x: H1 J! a( crainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
- c. P; l" m  g* t' [1 [His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
& N3 D) H8 ]( e- pleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& ^8 W# p0 j2 U) b# B3 K( ^of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
7 s. H* N- V& |  f0 ]. C' mand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
6 a" l9 j/ P* Q( v$ Khaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
& [4 c6 l' u* V+ vstopped 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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; |9 g. G3 b; f1 _8 mthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
; e4 C/ _8 D6 H) K% Y: q3 s. ZB y this time it had started to snow. An older
8 V; U* f( y$ e1 M2 p  Iwoman running from the opposite direction was
9 {6 ]* i/ T! Ktrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
6 o1 A4 T, ^( E! q" t6 Zinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
, [3 X' }( F/ F0 e7 s' L$ \
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
, s5 ?4 ~* m) Z/ @: {" A5 gwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
7 o5 \$ w: c% k% Q0 s8 Dcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
! s- z* D4 n- X4 e# P: k3 i2 t) JT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
' G. R/ l3 f/ d9 g8 ^: f4 oaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
5 x& ^$ Y6 }/ ~; v; i  Tshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
5 V9 D$ J1 m: `0 L+ g9 m& Pthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
( d& j0 U- a6 Omade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
: V# g8 g. k" A8 R7 b+ z1 F% i4 [T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
6 Q& D  B0 l' Q/ s( {8 ?told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
- _1 O1 l% d( m& `6 m; |Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
& [3 @& v5 M% ^% @6 y- qHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
- {/ a6 B9 [) u5 f+ P( shusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
. V" I) X: J6 r: v; B6 V9 _4 a! B" Zbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
2 L3 `% M9 V2 {The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
$ G* ]3 U4 p' Q) V/ l3 U' V* o4 Rwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
% B1 y/ n2 `0 T( J# Wside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
" m3 D* b4 T3 o# K! v* ^5 Jfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
9 _$ W2 b9 _* @1 s3 h- N, Iand many said that they would return..
One 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
+ S# }0 I8 h* X* E! twasn't leaving.
5 V* S+ u; W2 x# h4 ~. D; TThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
% y& w. R) Z& f" S* T) zH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
; v, V) Z( r% v" z- qsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
/ S! r/ D; f$ r% Eput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
, e, @0 O5 e9 Fagain all the 35 years between.
! j% {8 f+ X$ I0 `6 h. v3 pT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
% ?& {8 N# n& U: n0 z, Gtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
0 I/ R  L  S% E6 B# WIsland 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
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
" H: K8 P/ k4 oreunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
- u$ w/ ^  w5 C8 L6 i  g3 b  MI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
+ |3 j& P0 U3 ^% L; T8 A: ^! A- O# Lalong your way. His love is always with you. His
, \5 S' L  G/ tpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
% p& v+ v1 n4 Q- R+ eS 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
/ |, F8 [+ J* W" S% i1 O" Nto those you want God to bless and remember
8 [: N/ ~4 I4 K+ |3 p$ yto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
/ @4 z8 h1 ]4 q- G$ Qyou first.
, q# x; a! n# c; bW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
' v) q: _3 l  ~6 x! nseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
& r. X/ r& H# Xwho 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,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!