The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason

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) R0 M2 I% |1 t! M( t3 o The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
- }9 i: n8 W* k% F* w! Gexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
) B5 k: s$ }1 s2 n2 j' ~6 ]1 b1 N& jtheir church, it was very run down and needed
* J7 B( k! d' T8 I, h+ dmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
, n% ?$ V7 {$ M: fon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
6 B1 ?" Y5 z! ?; _$ u8 ~O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
$ Y" p; q) t+ f0 E. u7 Grainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
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
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
; B$ a( f0 u% i* qof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
+ D2 l. v7 f1 R, F; U) Gbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
) I: M6 _7 j1 q) s$ t( E5 G9 J- `and not knowing what else to do but postpone
/ ^! g' S1 g4 Q4 Ythe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
* L% c& P6 a4 a5 |6 Y2 V+ _; X, d! C- ghaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
8 v) S. G0 p% lstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
* H2 G- N: u0 v8 `with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
1 O, V: p. z1 Y  `2 C9 Q& Uembroidered right in the center. It was just  

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7 X! S6 v* f5 {3 u* i1 k5 S2 {! Dthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
7 h/ Q' w& X  FB y this time it had started to snow. An older
9 l/ ^, y! X/ @5 K: C- B" B) R* L7 Mwoman 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
4 Q" W) M4 l8 ]9 f# J7 s, gthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
' H) v  d1 f& p; p5 s2 vwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
# H( y1 ?- O9 k5 i1 d, n" pcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
! V* |8 Z0 c/ i1 U0 D* V6 x& k* jT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
, s* g  c+ Z4 q/ G- s4 Haisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
$ d* f2 u! L5 B( Hshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
. Y$ H$ v2 d; x, R. a( q( SThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
) \& g+ L6 z4 k# u; Z4 ]# c( R. Mthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
/ s, A9 V- T1 z! B: `it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
$ H! b5 J5 w3 ^" Tmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
% i: z9 V& C+ F5 a7 tT 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
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
) w6 n- C' o) h: HHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
: V+ d+ o% h( s* F( J7 K- M2 vHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
* Q- R4 l/ ~2 ?$ o2 CThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
* b! E& r4 {% |9 ]was the least he could do. She lived on the other
* o2 P- i& t# n6 H/ ?5 y7 i, fside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
; [. q9 o  W( N6 N0 ffor the day for a housecleaning job.
& @7 T! U( A. \2 Z0 }W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
! k2 A# l- Y% q% fspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
5 i, H/ q$ _9 Z6 Fand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
% u5 Z0 A+ ~; \5 F. X5 @6 sfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
3 F% l# d$ C! ^, r: h1 nThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
6 b0 E* K* P, f( Q9 }the front wall because it was identical to one
8 p5 q' n$ f) H1 J2 W+ ?' sthat his wife had made years ago when
( G% Y( X2 r& G& C# s& _, xthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
; H- g( O4 g' g7 m/ W6 zH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
# @2 j$ M" O* {3 e. mforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
, j0 H) R' u$ S$ @$ M0 M* C! lsupposed 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
: ]3 L+ |0 Y0 K# }! Y1 Ttake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
( z0 |% a! i: g2 O! [6 x" B- nIsland and to the same house where the pastor
- P' ^5 T5 A9 Lhad 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
! p- F) j  `' a4 H- |8 ywho says God does work in mysterious ways.
, D) U+ {' l+ Z$ Y; D( {I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
) V9 B" G, y4 w4 h. f9 kyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
  x: U* P  m( @- g' Q6 |along your way. His love is always with you. His
" v5 C; P8 N6 Ppromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
* A6 }+ t7 ]6 @8 h& h0 I2 xS 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
# u9 T$ s# ^1 B; g7 Qto those you want God to bless and remember
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
9 o7 y) r) s, m& A8 Useconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
3 c; L( P$ f2 S5 r! B7 esay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
4 ?! l0 B$ Z# eFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
, Z8 m6 A' I5 o* s: _day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
: g( g2 ]4 j1 L' O6 dprosperity and power as they seek to have a
% [# ~1 B6 U9 [6 E' }closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!