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
' l0 S9 r  v0 `) u. M- ]; F+ Cexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
$ l1 p* O& y4 ~; A% I" C* Ytheir church, it was very run down and needed
6 r3 j& d2 K! p1 H/ x" tmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
) t& `3 q# Y$ w; J$ D8 ?6 J7 s8 N; o0 tdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
$ {5 I3 _0 q* @% c4 N1 |T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
* _. k& R/ x' r3 k, @) Ewere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
2 g9 `0 t) D# i, J) z3 H( [0 erainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
) T) g! U+ Q/ V. s7 L O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
- J4 S4 R! ^: UHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
/ u3 i6 F* W+ S' ~leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
" z  n2 U2 {+ V20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
$ `. c0 @6 `! x' W2 }, gbeginning about head high.
+ r7 \) \) Q' w( d* x- MT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
- e9 t0 A$ U) \2 r* T: @and not knowing what else to do but postpone
) Z/ P$ C- Y" A% ]* C8 k# sthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
0 _. Q5 T6 X& ~/ o3 r4 ^! x2 YOn 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
1 L# B; d3 j; D9 k% ], ]3 Pwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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$ V4 Y6 t) Q8 l+ Z$ `  l5 U9 X. tthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
$ E. z0 }" G& k( @/ d- V. WB 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
7 }7 D# J' e9 _' Tinvited her to wait in the warm church for
  e+ I9 u, U' m0 M3 v- w3 }the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
3 E) H+ r9 p) @; e" |4 J+ k7 uup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
1 D, `* X( ]2 D6 L6 y" Ycould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
$ Q& c5 J6 j3 @! }aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
& ^; Q6 Y. P- H  n3 X" V  l3 h4 Bshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
& w+ k$ }- o7 z: ^  ~The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
7 u+ S# ~; k4 h# Oit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
6 W/ s- l/ d; Smade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
0 p3 `- m: q. ]% F7 pT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
5 s1 T1 ~1 Q$ F4 f5 M0 g( Zwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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% w* S7 C! R0 }( ]. s" ]When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
! U8 X  O' Y9 M% GHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
0 M! m0 z  y8 E$ y$ d5 w  oHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
% t+ D8 o( m4 A1 p9 G, Dhusband 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
' b' R: I6 j# r2 {& h/ \8 v5 b2 B5 ^was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
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
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
' p* V; K& o' K; bpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
0 S9 ~1 }$ s! Q) E1 f$ }and many said that they would return..
7 z* O7 c; }9 S! S/ IOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
  B7 s" l  z, p/ z& ]( Y' afrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
8 q! X7 _2 \$ N/ oThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
! Y2 i  c$ _# n7 othe front wall because it was identical to one
/ \* [5 b/ D/ B% v/ k: Bthat his wife had made years ago when
% w$ q# d, T- }. M4 {they lived in Austria before the war and how
# q. D( R/ y: P: X3 W) F9 S  p, @+ ~could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
1 U* |2 ^, h, e2 R: M: L$ vH 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
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
2 }- U, i+ j# e7 ztake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
  k! ~1 P1 @6 f% R* D9 h& rIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
" ~2 X  B/ r6 q4 |) z% U1 \' Bstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
& F% Z  [: X! K8 X& F2 v9 O7 y. tthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T 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
# i8 P# L" b9 ^. k8 E' @* fyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
. U8 \' U2 o& q! Rcares 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
5 u8 q; `6 G" }9 pto those you want God to bless and remember
+ h( m! g/ ^" l# o$ ]9 W& f! Rto 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
- k3 r$ e# J3 w7 A8 ?seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
1 b/ l; V* E5 [7 L' S$ R* Rwho 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,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
" H9 [# ]3 ]3 }* g! Ecloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!