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
1 v4 h* V9 f2 [7 o# H4 X- fto their first ministry, to reopen a church
1 s2 l0 W! R" U! O& fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
1 ?% [% O, a9 p& X" y& eexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
! H* o0 D+ ]7 y4 lmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
' a/ ?0 v7 n- s, I) ]" P+ Don Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
4 `, m1 c9 b2 y/ \5 M7 y: rO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
" z& Y1 q, W/ b6 W/ ^ O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
( g: [3 \* y" _) E* B2 G0 PHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
6 d# J+ Z/ {# H20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
( z) f3 e, W$ _2 A' |2 \beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
6 F4 l" o" Z9 m, Z# v+ I' h* Tand not knowing what else to do but postpone
5 \' z6 u; a3 U, Hthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
, x/ W3 Z6 x/ Q6 n2 EOn 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,
! G  J9 B% t/ k. Whandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered 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.
B y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
3 j. u1 {, e2 w0 Z! btrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
$ }/ N3 ?+ E) s' ?% finvited her to wait in the warm church for
& i5 [! F% N! D$ Qthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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$ W. `" {4 T6 e- v3 T  YShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
& ^2 T& R1 C2 m" s! Gup 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
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
6 E& A7 U; `9 O, @) Z0 l$ K* ^she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
% A: p, y1 y7 H# f" `7 f& ]( Mthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
% t1 p! t' N! R' F+ N( {2 i& ^it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
0 i3 c; U+ x: S. \2 n. u' }T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
$ K+ j: _3 u2 a( [told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
# ?/ y) b; n) n4 C; y8 Xwoman explained that before the war she and
! K4 Z* u) q7 q: ~( Dher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

  s" M& s4 {9 F0 R# `When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
) Q* d1 |: `7 f" oHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
1 x3 ^& k0 q: z: z# e# qhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
) r3 K' D' I& d( Pbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
# f/ c" H6 I- Y3 D& ]* ^was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
% V# J: V  x$ O: X8 o  Xfor the day for a housecleaning job.
/ Q. p7 [5 }$ X6 y+ a; e, d# rW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
  v8 C; ~' g# d# w& J, Y, ]9 e- I, [1 mspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
2 K! z1 H. a$ ^# N/ S' n+ ]pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
" z% {% a, [: z+ d( U9 ?/ c* Oand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
$ W: V+ Y" t2 |5 r( ]from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
- I# T# }6 k6 f! S' \8 K7 _0 ypews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
# q" y' B, I$ d' v# C3 cwasn't leaving.
6 z* K  _  c# D. `The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
6 a0 i+ @- [3 l$ p8 q- Athat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
, o/ h5 W. Q& B9 I6 mcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
- N' E3 L6 T6 Q7 y- iH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
/ M, G: {# O8 V: r# jsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
1 u. c9 T8 s. E& M# w+ B! N+ uput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
8 Z0 K0 x- u, O- s9 ]& A( N: tagain all the 35 years between.
- \5 f! n. Z8 E/ \9 f7 I% o5 \5 r4 BT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
( A' v# j& Q3 E  r& }; ~Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
! b! y* n. Z8 M" ~4 ]1 {# c. }7 ^stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
# F9 q8 D6 d, J1 A5 y1 [the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
3 h2 S) B9 m, Vreunion he could ever imagine.
+ ?4 [- @" k( U0 ?, {4 ^( \* Y9 bT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
2 d  ^4 o" }6 R2 U! k7 \# Owho says God does work in mysterious ways.
1 {& u6 |" F4 h3 h7 p/ jI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
9 V9 E* ?. P; z% w7 i: C2 Wyou 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
cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
5 m' N; J2 M( o! T" ?4 I% v6 Hdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
/ }7 H3 h+ W: Q: rpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to 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
, A& \* m1 y% V8 V' Zyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
' U. |0 O6 j$ I; f% {seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
- X2 J) y" ~7 _% [: ^. o" S2 p) Qwho sent this to you.
$ A# l; m; G) M& w, WFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
9 B7 T( [5 B! `; @2 }7 _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
& T5 _6 _- E4 ^8 ?* o8 hcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!