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
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
6 V: |& O1 M! P' Cin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
* O9 j$ E/ u7 ]6 j, Uexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
; X' h6 i6 {1 a! W; F; itheir church, it was very run down and needed
% A) P; E5 e2 P+ y8 fmuch work. They set a goal to have everything
. g& Z  {& Y2 U  R2 U8 Pdone in time to have their first service
4 ]0 I2 n- S* ton Christmas Eve.
7 K& {2 E5 v  XT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
' J. g, x( D& Z" d6 yO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
4 l4 X) L- P4 |1 srainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
- A1 |) T9 `6 b! n3 h, d( O O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
; c/ b. _# S7 m: C% d4 w$ lHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
. }: s: l; g- h  t" `" ?leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
! M7 c/ F! c% E5 z  ~of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
4 F, i- u8 {! `beginning about head high.
+ \: j$ ~, X4 @* GT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
0 v: x3 ~9 g0 T" S, h% _# t, Aand not knowing what else to do but postpone
9 p, z0 A; d% w/ ~- Wthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
! t. a7 M  ?1 d5 t- ^0 u; M! C& TOn 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
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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4 T% z# H# K. P& i! ]/ Qthe 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
/ g( \+ Z# b+ O  V  Ktrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
* u! T( v/ }* N! n3 einvited her to wait in the warm church for
" c/ `8 @$ f2 y) [2 k6 P3 cthe next bus 45 minutes later.

+ `" s6 t! s3 T$ C3 r6 JShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
+ y% Q+ }( z- T3 Jup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
7 ~1 V. n4 x) X9 S; Z* e2 Acould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
, s" u! s; B1 e% zT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
1 v( u' V/ O% B' ?5 J  Q# haisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
8 y- e8 i& p5 f/ ^& v9 t7 _The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
: e# J1 f) j0 rthe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
; R7 N. p* w- N3 z6 J' u- S* X8 Iit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
: c% n9 I" @  Y( b5 _& I6 }made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
( o0 e6 ]( T" Z- O1 b4 I" R: ytold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
; V5 z+ d' j; L  D1 t, g; Zwoman explained that before the war she and
- f6 M* `5 T1 y' bher 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.
' O& W3 u+ M# WHe 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
$ p! t* {% g& ~$ u6 S- [: }) iwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
3 u* R2 k$ ~( z% q7 Ofor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
, Y! F- d4 r3 g2 Q" i  cEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
' `+ ]9 m& h# X1 {pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
( P5 z9 P7 F/ |6 ~3 X# hpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
! u# N1 H' M2 N7 e0 f( b# E# E. lthe 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
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
5 p, |1 g9 Q- s' G$ b0 f( GH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
: e2 z4 L6 c% e9 \% H- A) Qforced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
1 W, b; K+ j; csupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
- w3 _3 Z. C# U& n3 [again all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
  T' E: s, ?8 R8 t" j6 L( Vtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
2 u; M' E4 Y6 M/ \6 lhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
+ R) m6 F$ ]: D3 Z/ qstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
  k! X1 e; ]" Q$ f' }the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.
) a: D$ W8 U6 h, G; }+ k$ sT 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
$ r& X" q% B& j0 ^. [5 zyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
4 ^& m" H3 J3 Y1 ~along your way. His love is always with you. His
! m4 l! C# ~4 S( Zpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
cares we know He will see us through.
7 `2 U9 c1 t- B; d) b8 uS o when the road you're traveling seems
' \+ |$ Y' d* s& Mdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
# k* G& `7 a# E- d. xpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
4 O, _* e2 P/ j0 m4 fto those you want God to bless and remember
% ~. s! `0 q1 E; b3 ?: u% Yto 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
5 X+ N1 Y: C+ T. }& J" S, E# _2 csay 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,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!