The Tablecloth

propeller

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



4 f* e% w" v1 e. { The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
' B% m: u) Y9 k( f: p  G0 D4 c, hto their first ministry, to reopen a church
, R0 r0 B  r8 E$ fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
/ D/ z, z& ~" [2 A, T& R# bexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
+ M9 J8 W1 Q+ w6 {their church, it was very run down and needed
$ `. y# M. b# E7 jmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
; L/ z  b7 \# @4 r0 q$ E4 idone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
; e+ w6 B* [$ j" P4 s/ wwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
# m3 x: A) @. \2 F4 c% e# k1 grainstorm 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
: p9 D0 C% Z* S1 u7 S' s: s) G20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
+ k0 D0 q6 b  f. S$ qof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
& z5 S, ~: p1 U7 K# g. wand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
7 ~5 ^/ E; w2 Z0 G' d# i. JOn the way he noticed that a local business was
' v! U$ Q  {+ D8 d) Khaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
% D" L! }1 J/ u+ istopped 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  
! N, t( ?7 W& O' q2 g
9 U2 V: Y, B( J; B4 X+ F' U

% Z6 _) `0 _1 R- ^& i

3 X, D+ ?4 Q0 R. j5 E; X
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
2 m$ {% r9 M  _trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
2 k' U* u( D% o" x0 ^2 Minvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

* z. C  ]& w, k7 ?She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
+ I4 A) G$ S1 T0 ywhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
/ P. i0 i' g# a* M! Ucould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
5 X6 l. L9 ~- K6 qaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
7 t; t& z% Y" y" ~) F% dthe 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
( T3 o8 {6 g' u/ i, Fmade 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
- N. t! n0 ]) d* owoman explained that before the war she and
) H4 |$ m. r" Z+ D. u" Hher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
4 f: t9 M, ^) p- q3 N% l/ {
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
9 H) j, D+ Y% {( G6 IHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
% W* ^) Y( s  {2 H4 h0 j5 [He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
3 Q5 W* Q. ]0 B" H6 A: |( n6 N& jT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
2 p( D+ Z; t5 }3 @but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
! s2 F: Q8 l9 A9 Z5 z( hwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
) M: ^$ I: \3 k6 F9 e/ k, H' q! Q4 rfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
( y; B/ Y* }' B$ k4 i9 a% GEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
+ m9 `9 e8 _' Ispirit were great. At the end of the service, the
7 W) h6 x% }' \! `; y# jpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
5 J* f. P- m( n( G3 G5 Fand 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
2 ?( p3 b- ?# {0 R' rwasn't leaving.
9 n2 d- y; C' [The 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
( B5 `6 }9 t! Ethey lived in Austria before the war and how
$ A( n: E! r( @5 ocould 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
' D* n2 V' ^7 |- Lsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
  |! e5 r2 T' N: [/ F6 Aput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
; i8 `0 z" ]! |  R1 q+ {+ Jagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
( I$ G" j0 o8 r/ P; ktake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
2 z5 P; e4 S6 b* `7 J5 nIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
9 l: g+ n& o' J& R" JHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
) @# D# ]' Z, m  u" [  y+ rthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
: v3 a+ q5 K4 c* H# Ireunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
9 r2 B9 f; X0 l% F$ j, i0 m# nwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
& ?- d) H0 c0 J. gI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
  n" m* W& ~6 g+ n' p  pyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
- J% y* X8 [5 @1 n7 jalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
, O& N3 h! Q; h) s8 Q8 q8 }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
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
# v6 s6 B& u& _. Y+ wto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
" g' O+ k* f  K7 w  ryou first.
* h% W* b4 H/ m. Z, Z& y) x( vW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
! U! w! Z2 o, byou find out that God is all you need Take 60
( ?3 E- o1 {' O0 ^7 _seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
7 O. ]3 V, z( y( F( esay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
% P5 B- m7 Y" G* w5 ~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
- p' A1 D8 j' |- fcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!