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
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
: `" x" M" m; r1 M6 q) O- G% b7 ^in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
) y0 _4 Q% G. I9 y6 kexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
6 a1 T% Q$ ~% A  P/ W' P0 m! Umuch work. They set a goal to have everything
4 Y0 }9 {/ ?9 f# @8 y1 m8 \( Ndone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
# o3 L1 B6 V8 m; S* uT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
) J; w  ^" d! E2 x# J) ]5 ~were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
' `% x+ I5 }' ]* Y; e  r. A7 N" D7 Trainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
. }& b8 V  i* V/ D O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
1 R# y2 {$ f" OHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
; {+ I# [3 V; I, _20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
& [! y- y9 T# h. O4 tof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
+ S4 o% N- _$ v2 J! G3 c9 Q. o5 Qbeginning about head high.
5 C" p. ~0 _" o3 a, u" P7 CT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
4 x0 i1 P. O" @( vand not knowing what else to do but postpone
" g( S0 G' o0 T. ^+ B( e- qthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
4 ]9 a1 g5 j2 [9 K# D# s3 |having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped 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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& c+ s% U; O5 G) ?  fthe 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
  J& u' h; _8 Jwoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
( m0 q3 p- H+ z. g& o3 E$ {the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
. e4 @) `: E& p; F, p# ~while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
6 V6 U, H% [9 y  ?  \up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
$ w  Y7 u; c4 n" _* xcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
  z) R5 c$ T  l2 D5 L! Saisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
7 Q* K% a$ X5 D3 Y8 F) w9 zshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
9 J4 a! O# E- U# I/ r+ F+ ]4 _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
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
0 \) O: z1 y" z6 `T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
$ l2 U$ ], P' r5 r: ^woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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& a( n, Z. X, H4 G. W9 t, n8 F8 qWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
8 z; Z9 T  B3 c3 t8 sHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
, q* }6 _5 \( nHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
. ], ?; H( V8 I% G8 {, {T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
( b$ Z6 w5 j! ?7 a! e/ C" m) V7 ~! _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
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
! }" A, c3 G& Q! e3 m. \for the day for a housecleaning job.
. d- n5 q+ L$ ~9 K9 D& hW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
0 L, A7 T9 c/ U  D* D4 x/ \spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
9 b0 L0 E, k3 u* _3 {0 t8 y& vpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
/ k: |( K$ C$ B% G6 c7 Y1 Lfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
) v- q/ E" {! k5 {' J3 Fpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
2 l5 E! g1 \; @: B' swasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
. R. l" T; L, Q* d  M; v6 Tthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
; ?2 i# ^. P+ w# hcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
+ b; q% R3 H* c: d. L9 DH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
# h( Y2 e! u" m% L( D3 Dsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
& x! B: S4 a, r- \$ S7 ?again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
' @4 {6 ^: S9 u8 i4 ktake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
2 I' s, \+ r4 V( vIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
3 ]0 a5 C( H7 ~% q5 c! Z8 m8 PHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
. n+ d+ L. r$ Z) C; @, Z8 q# c  F6 Rthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
6 V% J$ r; m8 x0 P0 v8 AT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
0 a8 D! O% I1 p) s5 K, l3 V/ e' cwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
6 D' ]- P% v9 V- Y+ [0 WI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
; e5 r. D8 z. k; e* F6 D& ?5 Qalong your way. His love is always with you. His
) B8 j1 f+ {$ D  jpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
6 [7 S% l) L, \6 o8 G1 |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
/ a) B3 y( u9 m' H0 Ito those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
- q& E/ ]' d( {; f8 L0 Gyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
9 |4 Y" e% V/ \: c& b: [you find out that God is all you need Take 60
# O9 _2 \* X8 |% P3 Vseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
1 O: w% ^- K$ z3 O) n6 f1 Psay the following small prayer for the person
! s+ a  s1 F; x0 \; y8 Lwho 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,
5 K1 T( u. Q2 w* ?prosperity and power as they seek to have a
3 w. n0 ]" p! |& Ucloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!