The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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4 V  M4 w4 _  E The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
  V$ l0 _+ F; t0 qto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
" [1 f) ^& ^+ W0 kexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
/ c" \/ {2 X3 A9 J- s2 P3 Ndone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
( }) ~$ @' h* H2 \. ~6 I3 rpainting, 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.
6 g8 ?/ J  P8 v4 i: j% C6 U O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
7 T- v& C! p  b* gleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
9 H2 `- d% q- Q20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
: p$ w4 w1 y/ Yof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
* [* k6 Y% I, B) u9 ^, @2 ~1 C, |: Qand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
  t9 R5 m( ~+ R5 }# N. g( Nhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
  b' S! l1 G: X7 v5 }  |stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
4 ]- S9 U$ d9 m0 c9 Fhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
: N, u7 M! S0 w* z7 Z' G* l8 Wembroidered 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.
8 s/ L0 u3 m+ D3 e. {% nB y this time it had started to snow. An older
( }0 p  y: r0 \! p' w" c: Owoman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
/ u+ R/ R! ], F$ i" e; V; m! pinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
* k  C) H; H( R/ c
  T8 {( a6 K8 b3 G) P. ?- `9 p6 rShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
$ H& q! X. P6 s( J4 swhile 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.
% ^9 @4 H. \& q" sT 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?"
* w4 n7 W  X+ B5 E- h$ t" x/ G$ H# wThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
: o. T  {4 v$ s2 B0 xthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
) `# a) _, S% v# B, ^, ait there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
/ X1 V# y; Q# S$ H0 G4 M0 Gmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
/ h( p+ [- @8 l4 DT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
# ?4 H  W5 ]8 N* l: O! K# ?woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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* C$ `- M- t4 Y. D1 AWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
- R. f6 {' R" DHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
( U4 E% V; r2 I) Y* C* ZT 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
; c) k$ B1 i+ O" {/ t( _. y5 uwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
! n+ @9 K; M7 W. ?; m% }- sside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
. u5 g+ J, }5 P# i5 a) v+ Sfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
3 a6 m3 R! D) ?) ZEve. 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 m) ^# u: v+ l1 N& {& r0 f! }and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
) n3 o8 }. A9 L2 Ypews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
, a' _; W* E" j7 Y  E5 P: PThe 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
0 d* B% U6 B' R2 a3 ?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
  r5 s. ^& H- b0 qforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
) ^8 D/ \  A' Jsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
$ w0 [" R. C6 M1 m7 W5 \again all the 35 years between.
& N) V' N) x! d# P4 YT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
0 w9 D0 u& \( u2 g, j2 stake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
7 r: L, Q& U, L. F- u; i; bHe helped the man climb the three flights of
0 _( h  {) d6 n) v8 Y  Ystairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
9 G* [1 L; q' A4 P/ d% l* {- j5 `# Pthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
# D7 S; d$ p2 ]8 i( Z- BT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
7 R9 I/ D0 l* p$ T5 FI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
" P+ h9 I# ?& _- Y8 g& ryou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
6 u! k3 w" [8 l3 J9 |  J9 \) Apromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
1 O6 i3 H- j" V7 c% kS 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
/ M+ V) c) d  Y+ Gto those you want God to bless and remember
7 b. u$ v( o$ d8 N) }" {, {+ vto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
9 j) A. n. c. u, x2 s  ]- M- ryou first.
  @! t# _  N: n) ?+ S' r1 H/ @1 MW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
0 Q1 h2 r' l* M. A; J+ yyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
* y2 U2 y0 ?" W! _seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
0 j( R" v4 `/ Iwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
, b9 G: j; l& Cever it is that You know they may be needing this
( ^% I; Z6 o& ^, E% z) q# dday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!