The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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2 F8 R7 t( C, m9 q! { The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
6 ~* [. q) p2 O% U/ Kto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
. m/ H. V' U) |* u2 X/ L/ x3 B* dtheir church, it was very run down and needed
2 h! ^: @8 V7 E( F% U+ {much work. They set a goal to have everything
7 g, ?5 E( o) d, ~: p  o, h8 Vdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
) B( q) i7 s+ vpainting, 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.
  H- M+ V' k( i# t' R) kHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
" r5 |0 i' ~& {2 a" l. @0 O20 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
5 A5 M7 Z. X" l/ Y. Dthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
9 |/ G& J( I9 C2 K* OOn the way he noticed that a local business was
2 [" u. m2 b. E/ G6 w' \3 hhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
: M' P* d; i  L: ~handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
/ d8 ?/ ]7 |* T$ n* r- }  M' N/ Rwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
/ B$ \# ~: t! y5 K# g  J3 Fembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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! I) r6 z* x5 l' pthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
$ W1 f. g' O! N7 Q8 J' jB y this time it had started to snow. An older
0 n% _9 n0 @4 A" X) z) a5 Fwoman running from the opposite direction was
9 Q4 F) L* D. [: w; Ttrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
; C: F4 c. Y/ |& E  f1 Qthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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! P! k$ ]( F- O# H; Z: CShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
$ w) O) c. g: O$ i" D1 k& p. @while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
; u# o3 s  A* V3 n: J6 y3 Bup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
3 f& R$ y* _1 \! ccould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
+ Q: {, r2 |; G# f: q1 RT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
* S* x+ P' l2 W" _1 t/ ?# g5 P9 L" Oaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
$ w* U* D$ g8 @' Y/ Xthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
3 I! b2 q8 B* Y( J, iit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
  W% R! N$ O- X' j- a0 x4 U6 p1 T0 omade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
( p  ~$ t7 r; z) G. B  ttold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
: I/ G# S& M: ]% T. ~  C/ U3 kwoman explained that before the war she and
1 f' O7 e/ ^9 e% j; hher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

  x! n/ _3 t; y3 Y+ k( A" @' xWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
" h; a7 R1 V" K- o7 iHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 h8 [2 h. X/ M5 tbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
- V* g, n3 K# D, h. v  E  ^The 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.
7 C3 F, R# L/ z0 ]% a8 L) G3 f# GW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
2 T- q/ n" P/ e: T9 o. BEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
; E% f( l  U; K3 B9 kpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
" G. V" x: `% U0 m* i4 }# G" G3 Sfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
" R, W" @- Q7 u" Zpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
# o5 c* w/ y/ |The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
  j% G' ?  {  b* |) ythat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
5 Y4 z0 \+ ?. G0 Q: Y0 Hcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
' [) u, C3 G% C( E* n/ D. vforced 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
* b% ?* ^* X7 j& c9 [$ I$ |) gagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
9 c2 B" T& \6 y  J5 b8 \" J$ e  fhad taken the woman three days earlier.
6 _, M# T% Z. y& \5 HHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
5 |- R1 u( T7 y* K8 n7 U3 [+ Qreunion he could ever imagine.
8 p8 _: z& u2 b, q$ d0 aT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
' |# [) o! |5 i7 J* G- H5 }' Lwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
. I1 O& Z5 e# U- s9 LI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
+ s2 j% \) J8 Aalong your way. His love is always with you. His
" r6 {$ q1 ~  v4 C. K5 qpromises 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
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
7 j; b' A4 S, w7 r' o, T! ?6 |praying 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
, @, C* o8 E" r) G: I" ?) n$ T' {you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
) Z% O; p- }& Xyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
, I  j) x0 u2 X3 w: Hsay the following small prayer for the person
* e% M3 ^( z- Zwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
+ a% o7 ~( `6 C. I3 H) c) q8 zever it is that You know they may be needing this
1 g+ M( K1 V( G' s  S( e' C0 [day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
0 s7 b2 {  y  N" \) [5 z0 gcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!