The Tablecloth

propeller

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

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The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
: w+ m" m" r+ O7 N) Cto their first ministry, to reopen a church
+ v! k/ [4 o" A! s, ~) k  ]in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
  f; V+ b# F2 s9 o! F+ S. P8 H$ [much work. They set a goal to have everything
0 [% u5 |' w6 W& vdone in time to have their first service
5 Q* J3 i, o& ~' ^1 b' [on Christmas Eve.
5 M# s  w# b. o7 N0 |7 f0 d! fT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
0 @2 P- T9 Q% `2 @O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
) B/ R) a- l: r# M: brainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
- l2 ~7 e% P) y% W! ]' Q% [ O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
, _& g' k9 x* p# vleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
, }/ e0 c- B6 z20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
; f1 o7 a  t9 q) Abeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
+ F' e& X  C) p! ^& U5 j5 C7 g( [and not knowing what else to do but postpone
6 d, X& I9 P4 o6 @4 {the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
& \6 p* `0 h$ g5 LOn the way he noticed that a local business was
3 t) \5 [: n" V# y. f! bhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
) {# o: ~( O) B3 @handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
- u% I$ i# V3 g) v- ewith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  



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6 ?1 V( u) t( N8 ]1 l# Ithe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
  ?! U$ `8 n& P4 d* ?$ oB y this time it had started to snow. An older
- M8 R( o5 d5 ~2 L4 ?woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
) W9 ~- G  B7 u- e$ a) ?; Oinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
* c9 M3 `7 L0 F7 F# Q. j7 Swhile 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.
$ Q8 ?+ T+ U; M2 D9 cT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
2 H. a8 J, t6 n( i" D! b: [aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
2 i& K& A7 h6 `/ w' N8 Dshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
; w/ m" W9 c0 N/ Z- b; ]  \; O$ HThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
. V8 L# M9 d3 h  L/ W" a/ uthe 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 .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
" g8 Y$ A( R+ @4 R$ X. eher husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

- W" Z/ V6 Z4 s8 D0 iWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
% u2 Y6 r0 }, a; A$ `& u7 e% fHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband 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
# P$ N& v) h& B) M. b( wside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
. ]4 x6 E/ A) k) r' T& t' v3 ^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
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
3 z( e: r1 i/ @# q3 t- w5 @pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
9 b' [; W& l0 cand many said that they would return..
4 y& M% k' s0 tOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
7 W$ L; M2 d7 [5 t( u; b# ]from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
. x- l: i! y0 i) [8 }wasn't leaving.
: U. o7 }) K& }+ H+ {$ u" A* l4 d- XThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
7 i/ P; {% n; S/ \5 x8 h* k: c# S$ Dthe front wall because it was identical to one
, [$ v  [8 N" n. bthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
: m' U/ M" X3 ?; m; t4 u9 S. zcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
4 C7 n3 Q$ k" v4 [$ Q' P- uH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
8 W8 k& S* c0 w7 Iforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
* c, K/ T  F0 g* ^! z- r4 s: `supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
* G1 C* ?5 p3 _3 Uput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
0 K, q4 P8 t) K' Jagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
1 \" f( K: D8 A+ c0 P  QIsland and to the same house where the pastor
. V5 a1 C# \* d! U0 Chad taken the woman three days earlier.
3 ~7 Y$ l# o0 s* AHe helped the man climb the three flights of
* C; W/ X# g8 c# u6 o5 ?" Jstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
6 K! \# L, `% S1 s: e: B" kthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
1 M# N/ l' F; l2 aT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
7 m# D! Z/ s! Q+ h3 gwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
( ~+ h" b# U+ D! o) ~2 wI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
' k& Y1 O& K" s* u9 U% zyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
/ }- t& l- ^& kalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
- {% \- Q8 {' i+ p* ]+ Ucares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
, H, P6 A9 N* w8 C/ R% c% a# Fdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
. U' R; @9 _1 t. Y* u3 ?- ~( i+ ]2 \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
  ~4 k  Z4 B; C' V, }say the following small prayer for the person
) K( \% l1 p# y' V( a$ M9 f% {4 R+ kwho sent this to you.
) D; k: ]1 V+ j. j* [# O* L7 SFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
' R* F) I/ d8 h6 z5 l) `6 Jever it is that You know they may be needing this
0 x1 i- Z& a6 L2 q( G" V8 nday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
$ b( j. W, p# H8 Qcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!