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
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
3 n+ w; g2 L# ?. Qtheir church, it was very run down and needed
, Y% M& {$ D4 b7 A( H3 Hmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
& [) d; K. s9 q# z; sdone in time to have their first service
6 s) K* Z, R, U) `- b" t. Aon Christmas Eve.
; n2 d" y2 y# I9 h+ @T 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
: J8 Q" s  `# Y0 ?3 D* u" p; ?rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
, b1 j& c1 p; U' f# o 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
% J9 x- d3 l: E7 c) P20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
7 s! [+ p/ ?3 |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
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
6 S/ l; a+ J8 {/ q/ ^with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
, L; X- t1 C" I1 S5 Q: `embroidered right in the center. It was just  
5 j' p& i% Z' C' G6 E4 B' N


0 t) O& v8 [2 ?4 s$ O

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4 ?) t7 G$ }  p) T. H$ U7 u' athe 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
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
/ w* z7 R5 w* zinvited her to wait in the warm church for
0 Q3 R' H+ \; b/ L. G* hthe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
- B; p. Y1 _& Y; Z. H" M. owhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
9 _# Q: z. f1 u; d6 z3 K0 ~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
+ k2 T7 s3 P+ E6 E& Taisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
- E% @# ~' [( G3 Sshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
+ @. [1 w5 @0 c9 j9 J6 ]the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
- C7 U; e' f) q/ T/ @9 zit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
: S0 c  f, b& R3 t3 T7 R3 T! S* |T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
3 h2 Z" `  s9 x6 h6 N7 ?woman explained that before the war she and
9 x; X2 Y) _- W+ d) eher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
2 V9 [% E2 ?( C: S) h
4 q% _$ v9 B8 p& |$ Z3 c. yWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
+ ~$ L7 S! ^, ~! ZHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
5 ]& E# R, d( }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
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
$ z8 I+ K) w# ?$ L& S( X" |side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
' J! o1 w" n7 n- E+ k, P/ _for 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
+ P4 o3 ]- E3 j) j1 ]; r0 [: Xspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
$ `( z! D) x# p+ `* Bpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
7 K" X, W* D# lOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
, q- z2 x) \% {- ^' s' n8 ofrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
! ]' ]& c; y/ `5 wpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
$ X! E+ i5 {% x  ~9 z* J- kThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
% t* i  P6 M. R% ?9 tthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
( g' k6 m, A8 k' Wcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
# L# q" p5 |) U5 n# QH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
$ a" P5 V5 w7 @' d' ~forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
2 m. a8 v+ |. I- O  P+ \! N+ Ksupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
9 l$ @" v; n/ Z8 C0 Y$ I8 cput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
/ e3 y2 U' D9 cT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
. C9 \4 t  P$ }0 N" Q" FIsland and to the same house where the pastor
& n( ~7 z2 ^- {had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
1 X4 h$ l, Z( x) g8 U6 Z& Cstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
5 B9 w  |. T7 E% Gthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
2 j  [) g) ^4 n: W2 kT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
* h" V! e8 S; n5 K" f( _you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
, e% w: A/ q) }  w4 F& xalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
4 K- |/ T% @3 [4 E! z6 hcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
$ C% i1 P( C' J; bpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
  u1 O5 O( ]! P# I, Xto those you want God to bless and remember
4 T+ b3 R) C2 F/ [5 {to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W 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
( N$ c. {, |" ~say the following small prayer for the person
( y* s- y; S2 @$ Z' [5 kwho 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
8 q6 U( W# |& K7 q3 Z7 @day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
7 v1 y  u$ J. p& O8 x9 hcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!