The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
3 f- p& p! F9 r! c


8 k) t. H- ~# f0 L The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
' D7 V  C1 F9 M/ y7 N0 g, ?in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
' S2 g2 w5 m6 K4 texcited about their opportunities. When they saw
6 [5 p) W# |0 ~1 M  h  d$ Z1 Mtheir church, it was very run down and needed
) b! ?$ v% O6 n7 I. ymuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
0 i" h9 f  F* ^4 }4 Q  don Christmas Eve.
, A3 |+ Z) g3 U4 r- h! eT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
! d7 z" U' Z/ @4 [& Zwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
6 ~7 H# q2 D% R/ P, [, fO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
7 ?) D; F- R/ m O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
' z" Z5 Y1 X* A+ t5 A% w3 zleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
- h+ w5 Y2 G3 ?20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
5 q5 K  z7 ]8 |7 \T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
( R# p/ v7 O8 |: k0 N0 Aand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
: U+ W/ l( e# x3 fhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
& F1 K# {$ {% s" t& d- z% [& z* @stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
: I: j, X( ?: Ihandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
) @  |$ O! N4 C9 ^, }embroidered right in the center. It was just  

: x  z1 N6 y2 q. J. s; @* `+ E9 t
, E$ s, N+ i7 ~8 ^% e! g2 v

( O$ A# z# r. k3 w

the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
4 h* N8 q! N. `9 ?" E8 nB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
, u$ i9 G- N2 Z1 l$ Ktrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
* M2 |' [0 H/ `- Z) h+ ?& Wthe next bus 45 minutes later.
! V3 Z& \. |6 V( d, l3 m$ j
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
3 M5 E7 r2 {8 c# d' v6 bwhile 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
" O2 ~/ D% d, ]- y0 |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
5 c- |8 E4 Y3 @* m1 {. D: Ythe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
, E) c' D; g. V2 S# r, k2 Zit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
$ H" }( X$ n# r$ Smade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
0 t0 P* A( l- f, ~* z3 sT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
4 c+ g$ j! d5 s1 a3 V: x' _woman explained that before the war she and
9 G& w1 W# d$ I2 Aher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
- e. ?0 O$ B3 `% e# k& b$ @
9 r1 q. z0 Y6 xWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
/ J; s1 H" j. [$ b; ?6 [& Rhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
" h, f' q- ^) C4 }; W) gbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
( J, ^' ^! r- t$ |& O# S5 NThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
6 J3 v' h- |3 gwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
% i/ D2 k) T, {: Cside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
' A0 q8 i+ k1 q; DW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
6 |1 i5 g& i! `) r5 nspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
) n2 X3 \4 N9 ~0 D6 l7 p  iand many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
' q; R( V  ]" ^: J3 Nfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
1 \/ R& k- n& {6 W. Gthe front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
/ |, ]! _0 s6 u5 m3 d# W0 e2 Gcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
* p+ u/ T* L) d$ t5 y( A2 Sforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
: ^! o! [  E- g0 isupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
# ^: f4 ?1 P& i1 h! o% O( wagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
0 f* {& g3 _! k( Ptake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
0 e3 u( u+ Y" }) Y/ w+ G5 cIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
) Q+ f8 ^5 @+ z" }2 Qstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
# Z  k2 M$ E& j+ Fthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
7 ~  c1 R: ~- qwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
( @1 e; C! ~6 T! [, hI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
# e/ y. [' L; V1 Lyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
* ?! ?$ @$ d- S' Lalong your way. His love is always with you. His
: V7 [1 B. b6 Z! l3 h! vpromises 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
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
4 A# a! H- [5 C3 R) x3 K5 e4 @# vpraying 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.
( k, O% V9 w$ \1 g" d$ F( SW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
+ p0 P2 ~$ s6 Y4 c$ l. S! gseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
6 E9 H5 R5 _! S! _say the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
2 _! b7 G6 l  ~- eFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
ever it is that You know they may be needing this
+ d: B0 u7 Q. ?4 {. ]7 p! bday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
. w, ^7 E+ C; l: Tprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!