The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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  R- z' u. g; A) f1 {4 V* C: V The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
6 j. y# P0 r5 D, `. E6 X) @to their first ministry, to reopen a church
8 ~* L% S8 h" Y1 F5 i* `in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
2 w0 `# u8 `& l6 e  htheir church, it was very run down and needed
0 y$ a; s- @5 r  W- zmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
7 j3 g7 x: I/ Q9 @) ^: udone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
9 B7 I# d$ J$ C' V/ oT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
. U$ [" M# J5 }# ]8 s, npainting, etc, and on December 18
5 G. t/ z+ K8 G! I# hwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
8 D7 I8 p" _# \  _- [& @; pO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
3 y2 Z3 q2 Q, W6 f' frainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
7 R5 M/ X% F3 P; a9 V8 K% l20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
7 H' l3 A8 Y- m; }9 y' aof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
4 d/ ]* n5 w% }+ rT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
3 ~- |  C% D+ U# Bhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
- B% V6 N' j! _1 O. v8 Twith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
7 U2 U! r0 J+ p' Bembroidered right in the center. It was just  
! P& G" _( k" x/ O" a
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the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
* s$ ^9 C2 m) ~. A& BB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
- c* c  M/ Q/ W( {0 Ztrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
5 B. F: \5 }: g7 R/ Einvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
2 ]" j" }  P8 Mwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
. }6 x4 d/ \9 Q3 N3 p6 [up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
, N9 J4 Z* m* G& C( Kcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
8 ]) ^' W9 f- v$ _7 U4 O/ g' R* C9 I3 lT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
2 n! r. g& o6 Faisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
  E7 P0 q2 _: @7 i. e# ], QThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
" I, s2 k( H6 g7 Bthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
& n2 e/ W1 j, e) {$ \it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
5 C3 V' {9 z0 g+ h- Ymade 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
/ I; K; k" T% r9 _% Vwoman explained that before the war she and
* @; i0 z4 q8 \/ p, Pher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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$ C/ Y( U. h: m+ E+ a+ VWhen 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.
( Z' ~9 G- b( u: q+ AT 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
4 F; D% j6 _! X% P! ?% V5 ~$ q7 I2 J+ Xwas 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.
7 E( g4 n- ?: P  N8 z+ yW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
) b2 W% T) h" s; k& Z2 jEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
: d& ~: B7 t# vspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
+ n: C+ U0 W( K* Sand many said that they would return..
' a! ?4 \! _) }, t7 V7 kOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
& d) t/ |2 {" ?/ _, M* J6 Ifrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
8 M4 w, u! H* r) SThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
6 o, }9 E) o' y1 m7 T; vthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
! V0 v% P6 k3 bthey lived in Austria before the war and how
" c5 z8 q& o6 W9 z0 w5 ucould 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
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
' c; A5 A' Q3 \/ Pagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
/ J/ E6 ~2 k* rtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
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
: `9 K/ p' e  x1 }2 \4 t3 h" a2 O! fstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
1 ?: |' J+ ]7 a& K$ J) [% Mreunion he could ever imagine.
2 H* L4 C7 S  h0 b' I0 MT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
* P+ n. f+ N7 V$ \2 _; mwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
4 i7 X. Z. y3 h7 \1 \# nI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
# P- P* m; u6 u' p* [( [) fyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
: a' J7 M4 i" g) `4 c( R2 jalong your way. His love is always with you. His
/ [( s5 l/ J: B* B! K+ d; Ppromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
- X8 W! D6 Y6 D8 [" y; e; ^' GS 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
; h" A  ]5 N& r2 rto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
7 T+ l- N$ v3 i: Lyou first.
+ E+ _) k& [# e4 o9 pW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
7 I/ {5 h+ t0 d( Wyou 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
! C! a- C! T8 l* T" swho sent this to you.
* v" I4 V* }# {$ N1 e+ GFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
+ @" [0 M1 p# @& g8 v. r% Vever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
: |' g5 t- H9 Tprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!