The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason

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$ o, A6 [0 t, c. V The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
" ^/ q) Q! K8 m' v7 g+ Rto their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
9 V8 ]7 ?6 B8 S- E3 Mexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
' k6 K* x+ |; n! btheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
  i- M4 J& y9 I! Jdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
+ w% M. E4 Z' GT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
/ y3 x+ L6 D8 o$ x5 vpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
# l, ~1 F: Q3 u  a5 iO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
3 n5 c% v: h1 hrainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
- _2 `# c( u# OHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
; ]" V: |: U/ ^3 _- N, \4 Jof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
1 t+ p) \5 ~9 m1 j& |5 W) _' ubeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
) T* m1 R% ~  d: o9 tthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
  K6 q' y1 Q' B6 f  T) A+ x5 @On the way he noticed that a local business was
: N9 L: a; ~' s" H; ?9 O, Hhaving 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
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
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" m6 n) Q+ x2 }5 ?( y$ B


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, u, P9 r7 q, L. U  jthe 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
+ D1 W; f* n! z  s: x7 q/ Bwoman 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
( T1 F, y: y: S. pthe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
5 F: k9 H& j8 P8 Q4 ]while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
. m7 d5 Z5 g# C7 `* Rup 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
, X! k8 @8 ?7 T: O+ @aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
# {# c) k  u) |8 G! E6 b+ zthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
- ^1 K" D( \7 |1 b7 _# f' zit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
1 E; W: w) f1 r  ~! `' fT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
8 G: D; W; h* c7 x+ wtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
$ H7 e. I+ R+ u2 \! a1 yher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
, ^' M  X% m- qHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
. a% t! b/ o' u( MT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
6 |, O0 Z) A! K3 Rbut 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
+ f* W, A& Z5 s1 rside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
, U% a3 k: e- n. E6 L. t6 T1 r4 O8 }for the day for a housecleaning job.
1 ~8 C( X' H3 O) L3 ^W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
/ i. K5 g; F% X. X; A+ b) vEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
6 X5 Q0 K) K5 Apastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
" P- @/ p* s! ^* _! g# h/ oOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
& ]3 H5 e$ u( N. D& \4 X* [. ffrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
" p- v/ }7 o2 o9 w/ r. Wpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
* ^! F# s& j3 R( Qthe front wall because it was identical to one
. s0 u! V- A8 J. f2 [1 q* Zthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
5 l4 R0 o) O8 F/ m- Xcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
/ L- p: C. j# c) K) o6 {forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
+ q( g6 }& S5 a8 D* W  R8 O, e0 tsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
+ }3 G1 t/ r$ w" P2 X2 Qput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
' \/ U- D- y8 [1 o  y8 u4 I( N6 Z: ^again all the 35 years between.
" u. V5 S# T/ ZT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
/ n4 z  G& ^* ?( D' B6 WIsland and to the same house where the pastor
( u; D) e# S' p+ G9 _+ ?  `' @  Ghad taken the woman three days earlier.
% g: S4 v  p. m0 p  f" AHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
- Q: L, V( ]; [; @$ Q* P& Ureunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
/ s0 h0 Q% Z) B8 D( J, nwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
" J3 {6 b1 P5 w) O( b( O& @# j* ^I 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
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
( u, h* @* a' i3 O2 zdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
* A$ |$ Z& I3 }  {5 Z0 w5 tto those you want God to bless and remember
4 X! ?+ k: {# x$ _7 Oto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
4 {$ p& k+ b& f) Qyou first.
( q  \0 P) b0 z9 z! Q6 SW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
( m' Z7 y7 ~& [3 }- Nyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
9 u: _0 U5 d# m0 Mseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
( z  J; S4 f8 G7 Y3 Xsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
  l7 `) b- H' k0 j  t2 Q1 `# }5 Cprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!