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
+ J; I7 T8 _$ _% p# Jin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
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
2 ]4 Q( E2 }. O$ d  A9 I' b, Lon Christmas Eve.
9 d+ H. |3 f9 ^T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
0 Z0 K% R1 u' v5 W* uwere 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.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
9 G) M/ l5 v" ?9 A20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
% O+ Q0 P$ S& j0 J) T! ~# Y% hbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
# P& A( C3 ]9 x  |! I4 |7 Pand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
: s' M: Y! `- r) n" H8 zOn 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
% ]5 C% k! _# K" T! n( q3 r6 K7 A3 `embroidered right in the center. It was just  

6 e: W! j- T5 R9 E




0 s6 I# w+ M& y/ q& zthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
3 H3 [# B3 ^$ N3 E  mB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
- f4 [0 K0 r. g. Y& J, dtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
6 \' @, m0 y: U9 U) Linvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
# C- u& i" U- V
& V* a1 I+ l  I# cShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
& C0 S2 t$ ]  j9 V. O7 twhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
7 m' U" G( r7 i3 E7 ~up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
, n: \7 c# K/ o( g/ ^1 D$ ]5 Mcould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
# [# a1 g( X6 `$ {- `$ Iaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
! a' z4 ~. }1 W  N$ Ushe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
, C, \- h! t: q) j7 O; w8 S3 ZThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
; R; I6 ]. l8 Z+ K, V1 ~  v! y! wit 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
% S7 x7 {) s7 J3 a- l  jwoman explained that before the war she and
8 a* E, I5 }. l) _* `8 d8 _her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
/ S. I$ m+ i2 v9 }8 Q2 E
/ w* ~# E! ^, p! RWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
( K' F% k' N6 r( F% q) [0 gHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
  Q; d3 i$ I2 W, D7 A& B: XT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
, E- a$ ?- ]& s/ G4 ]2 XThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
. y) P; D8 P& v5 Qwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
. v% X; N+ F' K1 A4 [for the day for a housecleaning job.
7 P" @8 v$ i  c) x: [W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
2 I; V: r% O! `4 Z/ n9 k, `Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
, b; {: o/ d6 V. F4 u" I- Bpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
7 W  L" p6 t0 ^* q6 ]1 YOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
" J+ m  }7 Y8 |& u& j8 Lpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
" r& i; K" L% Q( Mwasn't leaving.
6 m2 c. t6 \: ]0 U& P6 ~The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
& N* d# v8 X0 O1 A8 ]" F9 \5 n9 e: {the front wall because it was identical to one
/ C% ^* L! [4 K7 M/ _8 nthat his wife had made years ago when
* S) g5 `( L: f2 P( Othey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
1 r! d. d1 E7 \3 S7 fH 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
( b) u! Y) u4 M; T6 |put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.
: V! t. b7 D* a6 nT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
9 V9 \) N( _9 B( aIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
- q7 R/ d, R6 p* `T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
! u' N. j; }7 S6 Y8 j# qwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
# b% p" s: y8 R0 ~9 A6 [: WI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
2 h4 X% q# D/ y8 e2 H6 ~5 t6 [promises are true, and when we give Him all our
. f7 k7 i9 a! ?3 y7 Xcares we know He will see us through.
/ ^. v5 J5 P( U3 s/ sS o when the road you're traveling seems
% `4 s2 k: {" h4 d' m! jdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
& u% P: W  \+ X0 ^0 d* v3 t' bpraying 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
you first.
( ^# e% z% a- r2 f+ F" G6 IW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
7 R+ w+ a, S  D6 o* X3 _0 k( v- ayou find out that God is all you need Take 60
6 W. s5 F+ k: l2 P$ c* C: \1 u. Yseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
- t9 R: \* j" p8 ~1 Y6 G: x* i# _say the following small prayer for the person
. \8 U! X/ _, d( O# p; l2 t& Awho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
% R3 }- g  L4 P1 Z! qever it is that You know they may be needing this
; N+ l2 o2 L, f  y& w& T) g$ O0 N( iday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
6 Z: p& @' \7 z0 R6 a7 u; S3 wprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!