The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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7 e$ P6 i/ ^0 z2 I1 I The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
& `/ c6 X. L; b' `to their first ministry, to reopen a church
9 o* g4 {1 ?$ P) b# ~' |' N* K1 fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
0 F$ A  a; n+ G, ^* Btheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
( N2 K2 s! h0 ?T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
8 F2 i$ [/ |' \5 I! z2 `' Upainting, etc, and on December 18
# [: I$ {# n; Jwere 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.
: @& f$ t& l/ T( w; A O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
% d6 G% u1 l# _His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
6 p1 h9 R1 j  @3 ^7 j. ?& }& q( Kof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
; D" L. b6 v) Y: q2 H# @# A  {3 Iand not knowing what else to do but postpone
* z2 q: \  |" ~0 a+ Dthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
6 H) s( u+ x( V/ _/ i! `" m1 m- {having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
% V' Z- L2 H: E1 q5 p6 Pstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
9 m! e' Y9 C0 T$ C: y! s2 Z* hhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
4 c" |; Q7 O( k7 j" L( E/ k
* x8 u: t4 o) A2 l" M' g: A



" d2 I4 R1 f. b) p
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
' t! n4 P/ i0 a. P; R5 ~4 ~, t+ OB y this time it had started to snow. An older
0 M" ]& k+ B( c6 f) dwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
6 _* m* i+ r) qinvited her to wait in the warm church for
% P( V& k3 j3 q% X- U7 b. athe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
; U8 ^8 R# Q. u$ Gwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
# s4 z' P) t8 L3 p0 Acould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
7 S* S4 e! ]- x* X8 R/ R( m2 Eaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
* w2 n: l( @+ d5 e- i4 M( Jthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
- w# A4 ?5 O( I* G% dit 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
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
3 n- H9 ^. h) Uher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
  q- i, W* _! {' s4 y4 \
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
2 j1 j  [" W! O& FHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
4 T3 g) x: U( G& o9 V4 q# C& PHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
, `5 _& d' L- P! thusband or her home again.
: a- d( A4 x/ D# lT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
$ V6 s  N" [4 P6 I! nbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
4 b, N9 X8 _! a% h# ~* @3 j  bThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
  H6 ~5 u+ {! e; J& \( |was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
8 S2 G$ m; B( f2 M. Z; b5 \* ^for 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
& u% C9 I+ R1 X( |9 qpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
% |9 _& x  O/ }$ ^! w" @" h0 cOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
4 N, i* D5 Z$ r) b7 z) W( tpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
4 e9 E  q. z) E; zthe 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
' d5 [) D" ^: Z' gcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
3 l% Y) r% ^. r3 g; @+ v  n) EH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
1 W# x" l! d8 ]4 G3 y+ Z; Pforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
' m& I& U- ~6 y- E1 o; ^supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
( k- @' t6 f- L5 Xput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
0 i8 S, T- g7 P) j- P+ pT 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
/ Q7 q3 T: Z3 H' D5 p$ S% Mhad 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
reunion he could ever imagine.
( p( a1 Q0 ^% l1 A( D5 i+ N' K: P; A* fT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
; g) H" i4 i8 a: Xwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
( w9 H3 U/ d7 M% @7 U* Eyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
% G; V2 y2 d. {' K9 G8 falong your way. His love is always with you. His
6 t1 I% }1 @2 f5 B' @3 \promises are true, and when we give Him all our
; c( [1 Y" h4 a+ X; l0 {cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
; a& T6 Y& z, X! p0 x+ cpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
( Y7 T; I: B! v1 A  d% l: Hto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
) S/ p- e) R+ |you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
0 E# ^" ^) V- h% C- U# Byou 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.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
+ n- v) q1 K/ h* U! g, v' c# Kday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
" t! q3 k4 D! @4 m9 u* Icloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!