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
9 X2 Q: ]4 ^$ J$ f0 ~& F; jto their first ministry, to reopen a church
# A2 d% p7 P; \$ I+ Min 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
done in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
1 c, Y' ?  G" ]  D6 w+ ~( B# b2 gT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
: `, |+ N# c  g( z. g8 Dpainting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
- K: L, ?3 U, u# l4 y 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
& j* _0 {! x( V9 Y1 t6 iof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
% U5 ~' }0 P( l5 QT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
  l$ R/ a& _+ @* c1 X/ Pthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
3 y" c9 ~- j. W6 K) i9 f3 \On the way he noticed that a local business was
. ^& P# A# Q7 |2 H/ |# P+ x5 Ihaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
: j; }$ ^1 a' x, ?2 Qstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
/ k+ ?& O! U+ @handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
/ ?- T: J1 `/ a$ xwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  

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( Z: M. l% N4 I% dthe 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
6 q9 |3 w: v2 v& htrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
8 S7 V0 H# g# H5 z; J% l: J$ M1 sinvited her to wait in the warm church for
6 B& L0 r1 w7 Y0 I) Y5 ]the next bus 45 minutes later.
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She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
& R3 k# O. C1 pwhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
# R+ C  ^2 D! T8 M2 Nup the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
9 M5 i6 [* |* O& L% K0 C. Ecould hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
T hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
8 i& z( j% u% L! g' D: Ashe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
* y$ U2 K/ s) ^" F! V# ithe lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
1 M+ p/ u6 F$ T" k5 Fit 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
* B5 w6 B" [& `8 S: Etold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
5 b1 Q9 W; P5 }( j' \* h0 o5 d' Mwoman 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.
3 a* D# K& x1 e5 r2 xHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
. R5 y3 }) E$ s; bhusband or her home again.
+ ~9 e! ~6 C% T  ~- m+ z; b, \T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
1 H8 a& h+ c! e; zbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
( a1 h* T8 a7 D1 r3 ^2 Q# q5 mThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
0 u- v" N6 b; i- Bfor the day for a housecleaning job.
W hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
5 b& F! {# w6 v3 J9 F% l- mEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
( h+ |! J4 A! L" @spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
' t- y- M# T# j' D6 cand many said that they would return..
. I2 E. D% ^- nOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
9 c) i1 D4 I, Uwasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
9 \3 I0 E# {* hthe front wall because it was identical to one
- V. ?2 f. d3 D0 l! bthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
( l. b& r! h2 f1 G, {$ }7 r4 w0 T0 Ycould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
H e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced 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
again 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
Island and to the same house where the pastor
# s) o1 A8 Q# d( G, dhad taken the woman three days earlier.
; H+ T; ~4 h- T, DHe helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
+ |. S- Y2 R7 }- y# Q# e) Z6 ~8 _reunion he could ever imagine.
, I. f: c+ y5 Y1 PT rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
3 V" R5 g# H3 Y' o  |7 [. owho says God does work in mysterious ways.
) v6 }$ k) k$ [& P5 b* KI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
promises 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
$ C( w6 ]4 m/ U) @, c- kdifficult 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
" H4 _  m) R1 e  Kto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
W hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
2 z: a/ _* l# z+ Lyou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
* {5 M  E" y& P/ T) r- Tsay the following small prayer for the person
0 R% Y! u: V# y6 q: }who sent this to you.
/ Z; h& v; Z$ t2 xFather, 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
/ C/ r+ r) d6 ~$ R' Gcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!