The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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1 B% Z; j/ Y! R# E( t The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
1 v. q. o: F( f$ ito their first ministry, to reopen a church
; d1 u9 |' A% u2 D4 t- |7 e/ D5 Pin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
% o% }; b8 }, o) V/ F- V5 Emuch work. They set a goal to have everything
/ I8 Y1 x" d& ?$ V) T( x/ Xdone in time to have their first service
! N, ^7 B0 N4 j8 f/ B& aon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
- T8 i; z5 |: E$ I! M; Qwere 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.
& ~8 v2 n! t4 n1 d" p( d 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 q# W# [: j) H% B* g' h8 u! N$ W$ o20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
; t/ C4 y/ y4 M4 A1 E; lbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
) D. I1 E$ r& {8 Q( vand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
" m; J9 Z0 E* q9 whaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
4 Y1 d3 m% X9 v% O7 l3 Fstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
* r, N' Q+ g4 K2 X5 vembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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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
! o0 |1 N! _, h" n4 \+ p2 M3 Nwoman running from the opposite direction was
! }( v& W) F/ P% b: T: M' v4 xtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
' g. Z, @8 x7 \  Finvited her to wait in the warm church for
) K4 s6 l2 h  Mthe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
# `, w0 O+ C, W3 n. K2 gwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
' L& R% I( s1 w8 N& y9 @) _* T; qT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
: n% m& U& F, Q. M9 cshe 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
$ C- t2 [: d) o" u- c% X. nit 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
: W1 T/ I8 a* r4 b$ v8 i) @her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

7 S- \& m) l$ `; D5 ~$ yWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
8 I- ]3 S( h! V- F( C. [" ~5 QHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
8 P' k' u2 a2 T$ 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
. Z) f7 r' h/ @* q$ ^9 @was the least he could do. She lived on the other
. W; t% D) J; n& d8 hside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
. R) r5 L! j# v# Jfor 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
+ U9 ~# s0 W' {- Z9 e1 n7 fspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
: C) k" K- g$ K# P5 Q6 d. wand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
: z- g) e9 a9 ]+ hfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
1 X* F" l8 G' L$ {* gwasn't leaving.
. h; Z, O2 Z; M; _2 h, ^. HThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
- s# Q$ W6 P7 |0 `that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
* Z" z. G% v& e$ IH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
7 \0 S) d( `, F  a& Qsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
, Y+ W! S+ d" sagain all the 35 years between.
+ z3 a: V$ W# o7 W3 ?+ VT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
7 h  n& G$ w7 s# c2 EIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had 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.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
9 L' T6 E  ^; V) g5 m4 }who says God does work in mysterious ways.
4 I; l( H8 l# C: [$ G5 ?. ^I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
# j2 ~2 n& s! P' }you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
' O! A- r# K2 V+ T; Ialong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
6 O+ R$ i# c( l9 I, r" Z6 F' ^+ icares 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
: c$ w# o  H7 Q/ Lto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
" A; K5 p; Z' R* n, E$ F, ~W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
* {2 k0 Q& Q. j- V' B- I2 Ryou find out that God is all you need Take 60
! J0 R( ]7 o( Q* pseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
6 x7 `- O! i# |( ysay the following small prayer for the person
' h- R* b/ s8 W! ?who sent this to you.
: x( \- q: E$ hFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
) J) e( B* g+ h# c( t# ^8 ^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
' {. w& _( H$ m, C8 bcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!