The Tablecloth

propeller

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



The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
+ ?  [6 D% Z+ p0 _: cin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
- P% k2 F. _7 M2 l5 I* Y! v0 Pexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
7 v0 R3 g3 l% T7 ^' Q' W4 htheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
! C" U& i5 `) r# Y9 i  ddone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
$ B, N0 U. F' Z2 Rwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
5 z  p- t3 e4 a& j) S& Erainstorm 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
, X% d* {" y& R  @20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
' v% ]; w* `! J" k7 O$ QT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
$ K; d. ?* V. c: pand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
- k; v; h' a  H8 A5 R* KOn 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,
  F* e- L6 n' }+ L' U5 @% |8 K) fhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
$ E7 D' S7 [+ `with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just  


# a0 x& ~) W2 q! r% w5 {5 e
3 t3 o- z9 u9 D7 a: s


2 [2 @; ~2 a" J! K) M7 Rthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
2 c; S+ Y4 q' Q! v0 R2 L, o8 S* O4 dB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
& v% {1 B4 E7 d1 k% p7 z! N5 ftrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
1 B. F! |$ C  N. Ginvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

& j2 e. j- {& O8 }She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
- p4 h9 n& l  a& ]  L4 pup 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
+ J) j9 Z* F/ B' m  yaisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
2 P1 i# ^: y, bshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
: N, @5 n( a8 _1 jit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
5 s3 _, M1 b8 v1 }! u8 D" e/ ~: Kmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
- B( e8 h( H$ \' q5 r0 q7 ET he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
, H& Y8 _, g; f1 e$ N. n( Dwoman explained that before the war she and
$ Y6 W. N! e, W9 a% Ther husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
5 I2 p* z( j& X, d
. A( d8 s& k# g+ xWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
9 M2 h7 A# q1 u. Z$ o+ f- `Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
* T: `* k& G% x9 iHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
8 J3 W2 n, z) Z( T. \husband or her home again.
! A+ ?8 e3 ^, F; HT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
3 O0 F5 G- t% lbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
. U5 L- K5 r. @8 O" ]was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
. ?: @$ ]" H9 gfor the day for a housecleaning job.
6 Z. b* F. L8 jW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
0 p) b/ E, ~( N# G6 b) wspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
0 h, V" W1 m0 D, W7 K% s0 [& v7 E: rpastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
, [3 g0 b2 R) _4 A1 fOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
$ R6 d4 x8 J0 wfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
! y+ \& y' `0 j# Xpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
4 {3 ~$ B" v! O3 f0 Swasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
! S% W, ^- q/ N  t  @& I: Uthe 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
* w9 M9 k9 G' @1 g) `could 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
8 X! l5 k- w0 [: z3 Dsupposed 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
7 i* S6 h$ M0 v, [, A1 Dtake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
, E- p2 \. ]4 E' jhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
, T! G9 w! Z0 C) y+ c( e1 A2 I2 [stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
- Q7 c  i) M! |% V( J/ vthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
4 g& d; t1 N$ ]9 @; v% Creunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
; l1 W5 |. `8 O( w0 E4 qwho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
9 I+ d/ p* h3 Jyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
9 e. @6 s4 R1 ^/ [. n7 ~promises are true, and when we give Him all our
3 l) w3 \9 G8 y0 |1 Icares we know He will see us through.
  H* u- P6 {- f0 l4 A# cS o when the road you're traveling seems
difficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
9 c" [9 a1 q& ^2 V7 Yto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
1 S7 Z4 _, i: r5 q. G& AW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
1 C5 F, j$ @! g$ byou find out that God is all you need Take 60
seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
' _: @5 [9 }4 ?' gsay the following small prayer for the person
who sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
$ q: H7 T* {6 _* b! ~ever it is that You know they may be needing this
8 ^2 P, N& T* a! a2 Aday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
# r% d& e5 Z0 X) r: ~prosperity and power as they seek to have a
6 b' L% D( E8 z& J* bcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!