The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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  ], h/ [2 ?! {+ h. W/ b The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
! b0 O9 ]8 A5 G8 R0 zexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
! D4 w7 m( S5 k# D& ]much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
' s' h4 U8 e# Z5 ~T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
' @6 y" l4 x8 q  {7 h" j4 Hpainting, etc, and on December 18
7 b* R: d+ @. s6 _were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
; T6 ~1 I" m1 w. krainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
& C$ A% X3 L" ^4 q+ o* f O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
" O( }6 }1 {% A3 n- ~His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
  |& Q2 j7 `3 u$ q0 X% rleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
% b" b, g$ U. H; qof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
2 R' c4 O+ \/ S" A2 ~T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On 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
) L8 H4 {2 J. Z" V2 B' F/ Nwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
8 z8 |" S1 J* v1 b. Z0 L/ dembroidered 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
woman running from the opposite direction was
% v! x# D( J3 l2 c2 X( v: e7 p1 gtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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2 t$ q7 ?. I5 x0 C2 W, n8 g: ^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
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
) F" q; a! y) A; L7 S9 Q+ I! }* saisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
" k7 p. ?# F; q* TThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
  D/ k; r0 N: N; s/ O- {the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
2 V* X. T7 g, f5 {it 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
  l* y- `2 _; n" n, i( @& Z; qtold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman 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.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
9 }; V( E4 @  I6 c2 X& xHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
( a% H7 V/ M9 [* o7 Pbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
9 Z( o2 [! {' v( ZThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
- Z3 x2 V; }7 V3 C$ Swas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side 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
4 G' @- R9 I) f; Kspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
8 D& @' _; k. B# k/ Y5 land many said that they would return..
$ F. t. @, R2 O3 m) m: COne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
4 x+ M) v4 Q% T/ x. ~3 W" ?0 tpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
) O5 c/ ~: ]! P7 O+ iwasn't leaving.
/ D* m* r# |- _4 `1 W  l5 V( \The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
" o3 a# q6 G! a" w9 Y+ Nthe front wall because it was identical to one
  P6 d- H$ |, L! }that his wife had made years ago when
" G; s' ~+ D1 K& b9 q% W) othey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
- e/ p, V) g2 a) M3 ]. Q! LH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
% |/ A2 p! U& e8 @9 v1 |0 U8 h$ Kforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
1 h8 ^6 `0 E1 c* ^/ Ragain all the 35 years between.
# W: c5 W+ h; TT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
3 H( w" `& N$ J& ^( {: O, ~take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
/ F/ r8 E: s4 N* Rhad taken the woman three days earlier.
* M# N$ m/ |* tHe 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.
: `: d2 h: {/ f! rI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
8 r+ b: D/ e3 [6 l9 A' Wyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
: [9 L' H( L% L5 d( {- v$ S" n, X$ Spromises are true, and when we give Him all our
9 @% A* C% j& @1 `: w- ?( @6 rcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
  G! u. a  c! Vdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
+ H8 G0 k/ P8 {& y7 Y6 z4 z- d9 Tto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
3 G1 X( X, b" s$ p( r! `say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
" M6 X1 l7 R- S! o5 SFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
4 w3 E! Y' ~/ d; N, _ever it is that You know they may be needing this
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
- _: c) J+ \7 r) tprosperity and power as they seek to have a
# @5 c( d- J2 p$ mcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!