The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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- B6 M* D7 `0 B4 x5 K
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
; R& c# d; |; W5 Hto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
4 c- z, T" Q3 g5 @8 v; ~their church, it was very run down and needed
3 `$ ?  a( h7 L: S0 X* O0 |; Imuch work. They set a goal to have everything
2 a% ~' y0 [" u: j1 l  H/ Tdone in time to have their first service
  W" a  C& j) w# Y( w8 ^0 zon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
3 d1 e$ S- I: N* ^" uwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
; w8 [% h: `# n) iO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
/ |8 w7 [2 s) z3 I O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
: S1 y3 T$ T- B: n3 q0 E' J; CHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
5 g( e2 o- x2 A/ G+ u- zleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
& O4 c) N  f+ s- f7 p" P" NT 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
' \+ e2 ?4 N$ ~3 ?; V, Y; Ohaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
/ C) Y' A) K0 o# d- Q6 D" |stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
' ^. Z% \* Y# zwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
1 V3 B) {$ q9 A4 @5 |embroidered right in the center. It was just  

2 c& [& o  z- K2 }. a  e
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( m: S. I- Z9 ethe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
. V5 \; h& m; n/ H! H2 O6 W- gB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
0 H8 k/ z6 d% t$ x  ktrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
, I8 o1 O; g# H% Gthe next bus 45 minutes later.

* [+ {9 d4 T4 V4 s2 JShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
) C+ D! q1 G: `7 u3 k+ N5 a7 Uwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
: R& ^( O" _* E& l' H/ B8 Jup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
+ S; f' K0 w* T# e7 u& G  Fcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
  L/ ]. v/ Y: B6 GT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
3 Q+ X5 a, {# P& h; f7 Haisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
8 q1 w+ V6 l7 C6 |9 Z1 ]she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the 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
# h) ^$ Y- n- h: Q0 b/ A6 Q! C& h# b* ~0 Pmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
) l" x9 L" e1 ]3 X  F" ~( `) u( _1 Rtold 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 .

# }# v( [( i3 B- \/ V0 c. Y1 CWhen 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.
6 f* F: b, t. u6 U, M( B, OT 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
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
$ S, _( c8 k, Pside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
& B( q7 D9 D6 l- K2 nEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
$ H. w4 ^  E, \) ~pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
, n- s0 ~- ^. i  _7 BOne 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
9 [  s  |! F9 M( s. |wasn't leaving.
# n2 N9 V- b* ?5 }, r$ C6 LThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
! R% w( F3 u. fthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
; ^7 J8 D9 @  [# kcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
  `$ P  y' O! z! eH 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
. H5 x# d) e" F4 a! x5 i" v' [put 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
: f. b( M9 d" O) |& Q- f) QIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
$ h$ z5 R! g9 `' ustairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
9 E( f7 Q4 |, w) S+ g( Q# Preunion he could ever imagine.
7 i/ o9 b: o$ j5 n( X' E# ?T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
% P  A2 S$ s; a* D8 kwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
' d; N" a- a! H: K: _3 H, VI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
- e0 X7 U; M8 l) _0 B  Y  `  gpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
- g7 p; c1 i' Q6 O: ncares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
3 W& {" F3 }3 ~# X* rdifficult 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
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
* {, T5 h% o3 y9 gyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
6 T4 N: p5 K% ~0 }  O7 e, {2 Rseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
# @5 Z6 N9 H3 c  V; Zsay the following small prayer for the person
5 S2 x0 F0 l1 O# H# Ewho 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
$ N6 n7 `; D, r7 y# Y( t$ @6 _day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
) |) T, ?9 d! l3 N9 Eprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!