The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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4 ]) ~1 Q3 C/ I- y5 i% d& A- T  _) Y The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
/ |) i3 r; T# v0 d# vto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
% u% o2 q2 Y/ O+ u) `' n1 \: [done in time to have their first service
4 d7 U8 T  |) B( K8 don Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
+ p% w' f6 W  F& {7 A) y( Jpainting, 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.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
  }/ m" _: B8 g! C, i: ?4 ?His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
5 p+ \- {1 ^% W1 |* g" ?20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
3 N1 ~! B- [! b) ?- ~3 ~of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
2 V% B5 S) ~! r5 tbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
- ]: H# x& w3 G, s: O8 }( hOn the way he noticed that a local business was
+ ^7 c) |% \. H3 g, M' n7 Uhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
- E+ P. z( M+ T% T: b. q' jstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
8 M: Z4 x: ^3 bwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  


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6 v+ v0 s+ A8 M" s! I- F' Othe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
# x1 y0 s# N: ]5 {0 n  q8 |B y this time it had started to snow. An older
/ E9 y+ u0 M% n4 [# X+ R* O1 L% Cwoman running from the opposite direction was
- l: w- c6 F9 u5 T& \trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
# Y1 E9 Q2 A, t; Q5 U9 f- `invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

) A: i& J; a( z) w. xShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
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
# I6 `& |: X8 e! E" F2 oaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
. R9 s: P9 C5 b: S+ k7 v5 \4 vThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
# W; b& p& k6 `) ?: \4 {! j: Mit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
- I- K2 C7 ^7 nmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
/ I9 J+ O( L$ S. Z) HT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
" `# u  v" n1 T8 n! I4 K* `told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
# |; V7 x3 D  G! Q) ?woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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: \- a! G& S4 ~! _% X; YWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
& c+ C; f/ m2 C) ?9 [Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
1 ], E2 j0 s' Z* @husband or her home again.
/ |3 t( D/ E' KT 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
+ ?% t# [9 ]1 |0 d; K/ u8 Xwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
0 Z. T* p" o0 ~1 c6 Q6 _. Oside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
' {( ?; f  d, A: F" z4 @W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
) e% x3 Y% ~* W  Jspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
0 o" s( w( p/ O8 D2 j4 cpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
- ?1 A3 f) b& _/ }* Dpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
8 v* \8 U# K5 z+ JThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
6 I7 ^- k: H. l& f: e; kthe front wall because it was identical to one
* p- @- h( h$ t! k1 ^that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
4 I, U& f8 ~4 m+ rcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
( k, k* O. |8 J0 [2 Iforced 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
" N9 O5 W9 Z- Tagain all the 35 years between.
+ U( d% n8 u7 i4 AT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
8 ~: M4 o8 j6 hIsland and to the same house where the pastor
1 g0 ^. x( B+ }" jhad taken the woman three days earlier.
7 Y/ X0 }9 i; K. B5 R% RHe helped the man climb the three flights of
9 W/ |9 _, C2 m/ r- j3 i7 `& K3 _stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
% }! R# L3 o" A7 L6 wthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
7 C# U3 `! \6 m8 K/ R9 r7 freunion he could ever imagine.
, [$ u; P9 e+ U% XT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
' A4 j8 R( o9 u. b& K1 G7 Q# B$ DI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
, V* y$ D' x& E# j7 c6 ~5 J( W8 spromises are true, and when we give Him all our
& E! b0 ?6 N8 q/ bcares 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
- e( u6 H+ S1 S8 Z5 V9 g* Tto those you want God to bless and remember
9 q7 k) n6 h$ A! `, X" Bto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
8 F7 t( t9 p* Z; y8 Hyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
* ?, y( @- b! k2 M, D+ P' Dyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
2 o6 f) @5 a) E/ u  @say the following small prayer for the person
7 G- o) m) l8 y) c' K4 h5 @who 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
; F4 O$ S% r' [( xday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
- }( {# f3 \5 \6 g; q* o8 Mcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!