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
+ g- w( l& B8 o% I1 n' s: a+ ~$ F0 @to their first ministry, to reopen a church
2 }# V8 o7 L% y( h( hin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
" X, @" z' n8 {3 |their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
  x$ U( U' _% Q! \on Christmas Eve.
) Y6 }: S5 t* z/ h( g, X0 q4 s. f5 hT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
) D, h" j% N7 g! x/ fwere 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.
# S# Z* Q  @2 k* u5 X# v O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
5 E: @) l' ], x, h) d% tHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
" o/ _" o, z) o0 h3 B2 `20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
' Z8 k9 h( [: R! i. vT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
. q0 M7 b+ k7 U3 `! i( V1 e7 FOn the way he noticed that a local business was
# D$ w* ^3 `# W1 `/ i8 Jhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
" C# C, a& |/ S: ohandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
# z9 T! ~) D$ v' e3 h) d5 cembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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, r3 ~2 b# [$ v$ {; I( F# c
+ Q( T$ }5 _* L9 ~the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
) Q+ |! h% F8 Q5 kB y this time it had started to snow. An older
3 g' T5 l7 X$ J; H- J. Ywoman 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
  l1 y- M' _" I( sthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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4 |( U: p' T8 }$ I: Z9 n1 PShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
: E& O: d+ b( J$ ~+ h+ ]while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
0 H: ?" ?3 i2 e. Acould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
! I8 ?5 Y* _3 f! I8 P; [7 uaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she 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
1 A7 m8 L. z( b* [it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
6 E0 s" c0 L& ~* M; jmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
; L- Y8 F6 u! @8 z2 ZT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
; Q! A7 ]- F" ]. S4 {9 ]
) n7 i5 f6 m) x. `, G8 eWhen 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
6 C, I9 O- b- L; H9 {* f, ~husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
/ Q5 L. c9 v- d$ qThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
# L6 R- m7 N/ Z6 O; Qside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
9 b6 x& B+ s9 ~for the day for a housecleaning job.
% Y" Z# K) Z4 G' {- b% uW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
' M$ D8 j2 x  S# ZEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
: c( l' g# Y0 b( d" q" ^. yspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
3 h5 S5 p+ p  C& ~' Bfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
( Z: A# ]3 S9 |9 K6 L$ j5 ?4 ~pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
* ]6 Y( ?2 j9 o* A" J/ }the front wall because it was identical to one
  L) V& {( }0 G' {  h0 j8 athat his wife had made years ago when
" q1 E, G) I, b2 T$ c1 w, Hthey lived in Austria before the war and how
+ L; p  w: i- x+ a2 G- A2 y/ L! {could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
4 T; s7 _6 R4 s1 UH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
9 D. y+ n% R' K( v. {: q/ e, n: Qsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
5 x1 A: \/ c/ i- h1 Fput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
+ ]" {6 `  m. G. cagain all the 35 years between.
4 o% j$ ]7 {8 B- x: ~T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
8 o2 p; @, J% o8 d5 t5 F, Wtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
# U4 I$ J& s! i) ?  ^" F2 ]1 i: B9 Rhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
7 M/ ?' e- n( p# @! n* X6 Sstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
! O2 m' {, I9 s5 Athe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
( A  U% Y, `6 F& K1 preunion he could ever imagine.
2 M4 I  i/ s& H" C# V: X' Z4 _6 OT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
  m* L. F) ~3 Twho says God does work in mysterious ways.
7 ?9 J  ]4 Y. h# c( X# QI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
( t4 F# S! e# @2 `9 H$ k7 H% ?you 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
: n( ~( z6 k" g! Y+ p9 x/ Dcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
# A' S8 M8 v; `- E. xdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
* ^7 L5 m1 P( B9 E! N# ato 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
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
( U$ e9 C) S  j# osay the following small prayer for the person
9 O2 ]9 [1 H/ j5 b! x3 m6 Kwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
. O  k2 R$ T- G4 {: hever 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
+ I# N2 }! ^2 _, ^6 \& rcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!