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
: R1 N4 h" Q$ x" M/ `to their first ministry, to reopen a church
0 R0 x% n* k: r, W  w) ?in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
' A" P' O7 u% q5 B$ lexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
+ q% K8 D5 S, A2 m0 O  Etheir church, it was very run down and needed
+ o$ `4 R. M" K3 }9 `much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
2 J! P, u8 O/ }( Y  }. ET hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were 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.
# q( ^. a) K1 G7 e# C, _ O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
5 s& r' D0 a( @' xHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
% n  q6 H" p3 u5 D% \. J- K$ Y20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
. y* }& h! [: L3 q  h5 C; s1 UT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
0 ~/ y9 u7 }- a0 x1 `and not knowing what else to do but postpone
7 ]) J8 @$ h7 ~! Athe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
7 o* y. Y: n3 c  Chaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
% q, ?) ?5 W( `' S% h- Zstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
5 i$ p& e* G. b. c# e/ u4 H5 R6 ^# |handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
5 @9 R9 a: d3 x4 q6 F. ?8 lwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
6 K8 }3 `5 q; iembroidered 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.
+ q" n# _3 k1 M5 p# g0 HB y this time it had started to snow. An older
5 N/ g% S0 G* v) F- |% R1 xwoman running from the opposite direction was
( a- ~7 x! B! |% W) E' I6 Q1 W, \trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
7 ^/ k( F% G, S( i3 j' ~while 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.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
# b0 ~% n+ o! N$ ?( r0 uThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
6 o5 c% C8 f( Eit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
1 I% X4 ]0 z) |5 k2 _made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
3 {* ^0 M2 c2 z" J9 r, [/ Q" ST 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
" U8 Q: D, m8 i, Mher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When 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
; [2 g0 _* V0 x# I7 Q9 p; Z& w" N% |husband or her home again.
T 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
' `' _5 s1 X2 g" g: N: ?; `+ Zwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
+ Z, H$ w) S) D  g" s3 nside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
! U7 ^; a& z6 b3 BW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
: u6 y0 d  Z( R. v# nEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
6 c' Z! t) Q/ ^1 o5 G* Aand many said that they would return..
* J+ {, [2 N. v  zOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
3 K9 z5 j, d3 E( ?1 Jfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
* @9 M3 g. C/ J. Swasn't leaving.
: @( M& M' Q- |1 i5 TThe 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
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
+ g4 K" N, H: J2 @! N! U6 v5 D. ?forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
. K$ }, d& p& O, T6 {, v& K3 yput 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
Island and to the same house where the pastor
7 l2 D# U# ?6 }  {6 H& S6 ahad taken the woman three days earlier.
4 I4 W6 j7 z6 o$ H4 n% ]  SHe helped the man climb the three flights of
, [) d2 ]4 u2 A* b4 ^stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
# x2 W2 x7 @5 @- j2 qthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
3 E$ ^2 H+ V- z5 w' e! E: E& Rwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
" j* H6 S( p- w, \I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
" s3 o0 E: f7 A* V3 e& H) O* Lyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
+ v2 g; {2 [* F: Oalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
8 u0 y+ C7 M0 n" a8 q0 ]8 U. e- ccares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
1 i6 S" O( n! p" B# R- j: gdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
! P, L+ y- Z0 Z/ y# Y3 p! Lto those you want God to bless and remember
( o, m  U/ X! [4 A- C8 \9 Nto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
# C+ w8 y" y$ r2 S% c% f" l4 Wyou first.
8 ]4 P+ G9 a! TW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you 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
! q0 ?# K' x' O, h# v  B0 }who sent this to you.
$ S8 P- a1 I9 ?0 q4 T) B! JFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
% o! s* g% T8 ], hday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
. Z' y8 e0 x( ^  x" _prosperity and power as they seek to have a
) M) K& g; \/ ~: y8 b! t  }; K5 pcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!