The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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0 \5 L! K: p5 V) g# P' D2 J The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
) k) u+ q0 K1 ndone in time to have their first service
$ T, h" ~- u- }: T( x4 D( Yon Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
  e7 J' W; k- l9 W- ]" o5 Z% srainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
6 D6 |9 _8 \6 X& O; x1 Z6 fof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
( M5 R( v6 c* Kbeginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
8 q4 I$ y6 R7 B9 Q+ W8 `. Wthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
) W0 \5 M8 R: P6 R/ E3 A) rOn the way he noticed that a local business was
8 g0 K- W7 z& q4 ~+ c  C9 S& Ahaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
6 L% C0 f3 J) _* {" Whandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
8 f0 y0 r  g$ c8 r3 U' Nwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  
5 L! o0 i2 I5 @1 ]# U
5 @; R# ~+ F& y8 D; w
( U% b) m( J* d5 m+ R# ]' \
- k. ~9 V% w- }" i7 c

; i8 H% r) K3 Q$ M6 H
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
/ ?% u0 Y1 G2 V' J# WB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
# M: |1 W+ g; `. ninvited her to wait in the warm church for
& F& A/ k0 X4 B! q+ M1 @the next bus 45 minutes later.
6 P! m* m$ n- q+ S3 z
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.
* v$ g: i3 h( s  CT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
  T+ D8 \( u1 k7 I# n5 d% Waisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
9 b, n7 \7 U- e& T2 z0 Y% e6 c3 i# k) Rshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
7 E% g' Q! p& @( YThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
4 k& S' g* n& z+ _( y, ethe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
! k2 z: d+ u. H' ?. h8 Nit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
; U) o! H- T& @- F0 ^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
% y! `0 S! N$ G  `her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
! J$ I% @; R' Q! `( c) G
2 C  d+ u+ C  V& [( yWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
9 v+ O" d& [6 S% aHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
- B  m5 U( o: p, j7 E' NT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
0 t& U* G+ q( s5 e3 Xbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
% Z5 l2 _$ O; Q- o! e, t9 }was the least he could do. She lived on the other
3 _. `/ H. X6 k0 t6 vside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for the day for a housecleaning job.
$ W5 u; n9 J& S6 _) |W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
4 L; R/ g$ }9 {9 ^6 G; ^spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
& U( y9 y" e$ z! lpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
* s  u0 N) c3 d) S* E# Z+ j/ ?and many said that they would return..
One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
- S% p- V" h) x) \pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
$ t  B. c0 M( W  \4 P* X( tThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
$ l4 R+ I. v* Uthey lived in Austria before the war and how
; t3 `4 d' x; Fcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
% l; Z* D+ M6 H! vH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
  U9 d6 ]. b0 I) }; Gforced 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
& h# F8 G5 Z% |6 ?$ fagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
& ?: ]) g6 @! {, }9 P* Vtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
# N; t# F& ~! |$ V- D8 P! B! whad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
* S+ ]" r1 j. j0 X/ R6 Istairs 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.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
( s  s1 L/ ]: F9 xyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
6 F) Z+ g' `0 C  Y8 upromises are true, and when we give Him all our
1 `' @9 ?" D6 Fcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
: @' d4 L. }- \1 Z5 H/ ndifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
0 `: H8 P3 U6 j: q8 e4 ^! `  ]to those you want God to bless and remember
3 B1 y" C7 i% o* h- `- }2 Wto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
3 X* ?8 `9 `+ E9 y5 F9 m4 \you first.
4 {" R/ t9 {% D* L" ZW 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
say the following small prayer for the person
+ T7 {# ~# }$ k3 R( M- S6 s: B: Vwho 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
% D* ?5 W1 ~5 P6 K3 V$ p2 ?day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
  {0 @* d2 k7 P" Xprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!