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
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
  i" Z* k) K# l0 Oexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
5 w8 U& W) w4 c4 t8 }their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
) \  r. R( x/ l7 ~6 a6 m% z4 _done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
$ Q0 E7 Q9 ^% P, e$ a, F3 uT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
1 ]% d9 }: g$ y- n2 `5 n0 u( lwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
3 L/ Z: @. p6 H  T( [5 _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
+ t! X3 W7 I/ `6 X, a: Jleaked, 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.
4 n: j4 J7 c4 MT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
" w* W" @$ _  o7 ^; f$ iand not knowing what else to do but postpone
' n: N; H) F6 a( @the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
* c. o! {, }4 b# f; F& ~having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
: x$ @+ v/ i! b# v* C2 m3 D0 ~stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
" |+ ^% R: i: Y: U% Bhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
: S1 l' C. \% h( Uembroidered right in the center. It was just  

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, H- W8 `- X- i# R/ C4 y4 C0 l# rthe 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
9 i5 H- P! ~: w  _; Bwoman running from the opposite direction was
9 X- e' I+ a8 N$ a. Dtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
$ T5 A$ U5 {9 q/ [invited her to wait in the warm church for
* D- X' s3 j6 [* Pthe next bus 45 minutes later.

  M5 H; G. ?$ K8 u. U9 T' XShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
  \  }% J' ^$ R* Dup 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,"
$ k& D+ A5 B9 l* ~3 m( ^" Ishe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
) E9 L5 f9 Q' ?3 B% H* J% X. u, PThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
( T$ L( T4 C' A% ~the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
7 c* s. E  y. |2 qmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
' f% V9 W: k# w, g9 HT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
( |" {2 V: \" i% Twoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
2 x5 h6 [& p4 t) YHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
' x, I0 d! z) Z& b" n  n8 iHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
9 Y5 ?( c4 m! Y$ @  x& _5 `husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
* T. S- ^2 Q8 g3 I% ~* tbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
; s% k, }% Z$ k2 x: B$ }5 g1 Y' owas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
' S0 e# `6 K5 j( Afor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
4 f7 G. X# Y5 \2 d. `and many said that they would return..
$ l% T* P# U5 e2 V0 pOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
& `" c5 D+ _; w/ Y2 F$ Ypews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
5 N/ `% B7 U' o/ ^1 X" {The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
8 D$ l& o( D5 V# }that his wife had made years ago when
$ D1 J4 H4 e; U" t: athey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
. h5 M* U/ B, tH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
; ?+ [6 b+ J- A% r" xforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
5 ?; `; _; F# z) {. e3 Gsupposed 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.
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
had taken the woman three days earlier.
: k0 d0 c9 V( O* nHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
% h! @* k: `# c8 o1 k! f0 ]reunion he could ever imagine.
4 y6 @3 C. C% T( h  k$ hT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
4 x+ O3 e/ f* w7 w6 G1 v; @who says God does work in mysterious ways.
5 x, B1 x& \0 f2 q3 uI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
  y; k- [+ [8 f& Balong 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
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
" }1 R( G* R8 G$ Hto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
  l9 n( M; |" W3 Dyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
% ~* r) g" y* zyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
8 P; _* L3 l' X1 A5 m. ~seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
) Q2 k4 S: J& w, ~  W; U! gever 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
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!