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
, y! G  G; ~4 u7 m" D' G: n# din suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
# j; q2 ?! ?" A; E  c& [, |: {% zexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
1 a& x7 i! H" {6 i( q4 q" ttheir church, it was very run down and needed
9 U5 O- A9 T/ L2 l% c9 s- l8 Jmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
; T) \5 d# e& A4 C  b4 J) |" Won Christmas Eve.
+ ]* ^' c, t! q+ V# PT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
2 Z5 f5 B8 L  K8 T9 r( epainting, etc, and on December 18
1 Q. ~" \/ G% kwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
. O; y$ i6 @9 s7 Z2 FO 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.
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
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning 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.
+ N. o# e* y) h) fOn 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
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
% e4 o5 ]) Q- ^: ]2 N' D3 N9 etrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
7 F5 l% `6 O( u; `invited her to wait in the warm church for
7 S' x6 n$ O) r" Z: bthe 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
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
- i4 d+ \6 [8 S( U1 Rcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
& M! A/ [8 r. v! Xaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
5 j1 D+ T8 F- L$ p; V% f$ Yshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
" Z) j& A/ M' j2 Y; m' Mit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
+ ~' e1 w: V# Y$ T  f- L6 Dwoman explained that before the war she and
2 N  D; c: P! b1 b9 A6 ]5 qher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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( P- |/ g; E* n! T+ IWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
3 X/ w4 t: t5 G% Qhusband or her home again.
0 ?$ [; m( l5 \; e9 G3 V, i3 e) B" F  ET he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
: y( l5 ?" S3 O/ z  N( BThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
9 }: a! ?# u$ k) _was the least he could do. She lived on the other
4 j1 z) H" t; |: K0 Dside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
, f; H  e2 @: Y, v* wW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
% S( ~# @: \, _& z5 Q; {Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
8 [- m6 L. G5 Hpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
( Q8 m( w" r2 F5 I4 A0 [and many said that they would return..
! T, P8 v* `2 L& |1 G- LOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
) ^# l* U* \& S/ L! c* }; Ifrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
8 H9 a3 k: D2 T5 Pwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
  s0 A- A# q; x1 uthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
8 H6 ^- r0 z! Nthey 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
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
7 |+ Y9 |1 w7 \again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
' S0 ^6 n! O7 S/ L! [0 C" U' U! Y5 ttake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
* F' _! k0 K4 n, qIsland and to the same house where the pastor
/ h7 `& Q8 m9 t/ Q1 T* fhad taken the woman three days earlier.
" ~$ Y, f. B8 B8 l  c6 W- J- JHe helped the man climb the three flights of
8 [; d; H4 s1 m; C" b$ g# ~2 s% nstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
, Z  r0 ]6 x; a- greunion he could ever imagine.
+ I  r5 z; ]+ J  n9 l4 c2 vT 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
  q: g2 {6 a& D) o) Q) tyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
' |2 T+ t4 X6 g3 q# ~along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
. o1 P1 Q' j5 Q  f) a8 T2 Vcares we know He will see us through.
1 `- c$ |" ]5 m. v8 sS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
# W9 e2 X6 y# |& E+ R' P1 [$ }+ S5 Lpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
* O; B" ]. c3 jto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
. y+ {: N! S" q; f* ]5 P2 b+ Jyou first.
1 B2 @. T. y. Q& S' u. SW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
3 L2 C$ `$ l6 o, Y/ \seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
$ O" C8 C$ Y0 W' ~' v+ tsay the following small prayer for the person
. H& T$ k, D( a1 L+ t4 l( s3 ]) ^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
9 W9 V1 Z' Q: uday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
% k; I* F/ g  I* m7 t3 Y' R' yprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!