The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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! F3 M5 i3 k6 A- G+ t& C' t The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
" ~! o# l& N1 g+ i  fin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
7 Y! T$ ]6 t2 S2 g/ q# ]much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
, _& `% b& [$ W4 X% J& Jpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
8 I# K; s# z6 F+ O" m  v  D& Urainstorm 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
, U7 e+ f0 z( W" wleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
" ]3 V. ~' B/ H# a- W20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
) ~: C; @/ ?3 J" r6 Wof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
/ M- E7 K% u0 I6 o; D+ Nand not knowing what else to do but postpone
: X* Q7 g/ |5 P: [: w$ z% ?) Nthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
3 g! k- X/ M' f) k5 h* _8 u3 L7 {; chaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
7 o7 b- W" L2 H2 M3 ywith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
: q! m. d/ \6 q' L9 Q! j$ G/ rembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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9 u# J9 g% D3 ?/ nthe 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
, v4 q, a9 H, _1 W9 ?& H/ dwoman running from the opposite direction was
. g. {7 ?/ k, w; k9 ^4 b- Ptrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
% _+ g, c- q0 y' I7 pinvited her to wait in the warm church for
; P8 `7 \, C; q4 \+ q8 qthe next bus 45 minutes later.
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3 d* l) ~/ k2 c! l* z. M6 vShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
3 U$ z3 F6 s0 z3 s1 `T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
% S* p# Y$ D' vshe 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
  v3 b1 h+ j8 R' Eit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
! ]( r( {2 }6 e9 F8 ^T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
% N: b* }6 c- T# btold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
' [* C$ L% K1 H& Ywoman explained that before the war she and
. {2 _( H2 t& ^$ {4 A( Mher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
, }3 Q$ ]! C$ T9 {3 v+ B, l1 \Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
8 o" x; G/ j2 C& C7 j* n+ lHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
1 S; B. g9 |1 R# L1 E( \7 v6 Nhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
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  
) P* s3 V/ d6 w" k1 n8 C' _/ Gfor 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
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
% g- i' K/ t+ U4 H8 V% d) Lfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
/ O7 C+ L5 k$ v6 M8 m5 r! r0 Ipews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
. U3 U& O' \9 J. V% s2 U; Jwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
4 y* s3 u$ p' g& c0 O! X* s  Sthe front wall because it was identical to one
; T3 r  K) z! F  ]' a, ^that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
/ J# u) M! c7 fcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
2 ~( M2 o% n7 I' kforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
+ L* N* ~1 h; G) isupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
$ }3 z( }% ]5 V1 g( Tput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
& R3 r0 V/ l) S1 F! u0 w% B" y, R2 e8 ]again all the 35 years between.
1 n7 k7 ~& {/ @1 jT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
+ c9 e) o; K' N5 d/ S, n- Ztake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
4 M5 Y2 A- c2 b" O/ A, @0 HIsland and to the same house where the pastor
$ p9 ]9 j; i8 e$ h! phad 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.
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
0 N* J6 s+ m* D0 a- L0 u" Tyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
7 u3 z+ D* P$ j' F' T* valong your way. His love is always with you. His
6 z- `1 @8 Y9 U4 Hpromises 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
5 \4 Q; B* N$ k3 @* R8 vdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
- E# V% r5 c; \: Rto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
- ?) j: ?0 y- Pyou first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
$ h5 x+ h0 l6 @- @1 Gseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say the following small prayer for the person
: Q4 v- u5 g9 ~  u' s9 m, F- H' g' {who sent this to you.
8 m* S6 b4 P; T' }" a1 s1 |Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
+ o& r! \; B# \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!