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
# v5 A: Y2 g$ S) A  }/ C2 ?in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
0 N6 I6 ^# d3 d1 D' Ztheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
' A& d3 B6 a8 p& pdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
0 D  P/ Z* c4 i+ C% `painting, etc, and on December 18
8 c: I% a) @1 p% {+ Wwere 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.
( Y# o& |  Z- c" O( UHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
9 G0 s' U8 j/ d/ S6 Xleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
% b. l% O7 H8 f3 iof 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
  o# r8 G9 k: rthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
; v' X0 A: M  E: [' tOn the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
5 g$ h- a: s* ~: Astopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
3 c) g) l0 b3 {$ }, f1 L" z+ ^with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
5 F! A% Y# Z. Z6 a9 e5 G& T' i3 @* Tembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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; y. s2 Y, p* X6 K. a5 ]- Y
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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
3 N; E8 |% |: B8 Zwoman 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
! w+ D5 Y# ~. k6 Y5 ~the next bus 45 minutes later.
9 P: b9 K1 d( w3 ^" C& Q
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
3 W; m( P3 W( s! K" [while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
4 J+ o0 B7 e8 V  M+ iup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
2 G8 H; P1 j  b' ^4 F/ WT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
; _  \; B6 M/ U. ], Q% gshe 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
% W4 h, z- u% S# O9 u& Bit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
& |& \8 B, E9 S% S/ FT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
* k) n6 a* s  ]- |& j) ^$ U6 Y3 btold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
& g: p" L8 X" c+ F3 J0 p  pwoman explained that before the war she and
- s1 _8 g1 `7 {1 p! E7 uher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
1 ^1 a- r% I/ Z6 n$ S3 t
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
8 s' F4 d' i, ?! SHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
+ F! c4 }8 r+ @' n, |- C) ?6 WHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
7 \% P& A  j3 \4 x6 ^( a  Q3 y, [T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
' U2 `" D- i, O& gThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
1 \) N( _4 z8 Q. L1 i% jEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& h# n, m1 D* Z. D8 D" `pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
2 A+ X) D  t; D$ A. y$ _6 _, g8 Y/ T9 nand many said that they would return..
: Z/ L  Z% I+ x) ~! COne older man, whom the pastor recognized
/ ?% d2 [# B7 K; s+ d; c( gfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
3 C. P; j* G1 _8 C7 }wasn't leaving.
The 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
4 @- T, W" w* e2 Ethey 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
' T5 `9 }4 O* i" c) n% c2 ssupposed 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.
( k# a3 i3 o. ^T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
' ?2 ^* E4 |, D$ Q! ?take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
2 d  p2 K8 u6 K$ E, Y8 R& [+ iIsland and to the same house where the pastor
; K4 S  O& t2 N6 S2 Y+ |" Q0 b8 d8 jhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
9 |. }  @  F# ?! N  Cthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T 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
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
% {3 ?0 E" g$ C% z3 K) U# Z8 ralong your way. His love is always with you. His
9 @9 ?& l* ^1 K+ d1 B) }4 `. c, {promises are true, and when we give Him all our
& ]- b0 @' a3 l; L9 a# V' x+ zcares we know He will see us through.
# V$ |- v. l/ b& p) [2 X6 Q7 n$ mS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
3 v- j  w6 W$ k$ ~2 K2 h0 ppraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
+ L/ ^. Y% n$ p8 ]" X" \, L! lto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
/ H% Z* U+ c9 H, u2 R- m# C' ^you first.
2 K  h% N+ b! y2 J" t) G8 {W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
- O" K9 [- F/ Y, H3 xyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
+ S' r8 E# a" [' rseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
& @7 Y% }- U3 r$ k5 V, gwho sent this to you.
5 |& O( y  Z% b* K+ j! XFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
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
+ t$ K* Y% g" q  J" qcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!