The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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# r3 P! q/ u0 o9 t& |# J The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
: U/ k) `+ j7 ~# s7 L! g% q, bin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
0 p0 q! `& b! Bmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
0 D3 K( O% c# h* q# c5 \done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
# G& ?4 W# J+ U) _, N8 lpainting, etc, and on December 18
; x; u# n# Q8 `$ ?" g' j/ a0 i" V& lwere 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.
( ~$ S0 w  o9 R: {/ w; W  f O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
- U2 b' u: Y# P/ t4 D, p( ]# XHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
7 S: z) N9 p& F8 g7 T+ @2 Lleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
( `7 H- B  o  b& o20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
9 _3 t3 k- t# u0 p/ b' `7 l" wof 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
! w" N' j9 L( B" p/ {the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
- p  O% ]8 o. K; X2 m; s4 o1 Jhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
# t% P5 s3 _4 O: s3 jstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
4 n' ?* j% ^' a& t4 n1 g" thandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
: d/ t7 J8 k/ a2 Oembroidered right in the center. It was just  

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the 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
$ M% }& h& u2 Q& }- [woman running from the opposite direction was
, V4 U' n$ ~! Q4 n/ ctrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
3 h1 ^4 [  D  v9 ^" G0 einvited her to wait in the warm church for
& z! t( J9 ~& v* ?* u* Ithe next bus 45 minutes later.

+ o# l) s9 |' `( ]' u9 _She 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
$ N$ i2 b) g+ D$ c! g* ccould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
. G$ q1 L2 \, |- m* J/ }, N+ Y4 _0 q. n# ?aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
2 N; e1 E# a2 n+ Ishe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
7 V" a& P2 w8 a9 b$ B, LThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
. `6 S; P2 ?# W, B" ^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
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
8 x+ l+ m' ^4 B0 o8 jT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
1 \  o5 b. z6 G9 l* W( T" ttold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
" j. f! Q. y+ K' e# K+ h& @* @her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
3 i  Y) Z& Q& eHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
3 [" @; o3 x: _9 K, L1 b  t+ \/ kT 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
( d0 i1 Q0 Y' U  Q4 {$ J; l) k8 gwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
) W, S/ B( I5 a, M/ pside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for 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
* q2 K/ [# P$ k* Q+ Ospirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& Z7 ?7 |* O. ?0 |0 q2 h) Lpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
4 T/ s0 z* Q1 p' u- Y9 Wand many said that they would return..
! r7 t( O* s* q- \4 B0 y9 fOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
! G. A6 }% Z% Z. O# D% iwasn't leaving.
* V+ {6 @0 u+ U* iThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
/ y/ q% U6 z0 J  S; `' @4 cthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
" j" n+ O3 `/ B8 N: _+ C1 Qthey lived in Austria before the war and how
5 P  {6 t) u0 Q7 \' p) \2 R! \. ~could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
% y. L7 g3 ^4 E: pH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
5 g, s& V7 Y$ cforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
. l/ k  p: b4 k7 k4 Hput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
! s  A1 z$ b- B4 Y; X2 i- k9 {again all the 35 years between.
) }2 Q5 V+ N* a; UT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
9 O1 x" b* _) n/ m1 ^& r% ]7 L5 ]take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
- J6 L# ?1 z+ ]2 N3 k9 AIsland and to the same house where the pastor
% V5 ^: d* L  t# h6 Mhad 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
' y! }% l# V7 p: qreunion 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
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
4 q6 J2 ~; F. v+ b! Ucares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
9 C! t% i( R* |0 Y& rpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
/ V$ B# {5 ]- K- {) @. Lto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
0 P9 x" V4 g* N. {you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
+ p* B4 }) U3 F4 E* o/ n7 Eyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
6 a$ M" W$ Z. j' gseconds 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
# Q; I! ~) v+ g* q1 K  F- W' Dever 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
% K9 E1 }$ C/ ccloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!