The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
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/ F- W' v$ [9 n2 { The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
3 W7 [" P; L6 n5 ]) ~% S: _$ [to their first ministry, to reopen a church
- F3 z+ Y+ s0 U0 f% ]in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
' Z# _( g) f7 v+ Texcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
2 Y# j# b* ^, J; Q8 J6 u( }much work. They set a goal to have everything
0 H9 n% p/ \% s/ t0 p: I# sdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
. ~9 H$ s* n, t0 t% Kpainting, etc, and on December 18
; b: d. |7 L0 e- W3 X: T, o, rwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
8 o) p, m3 [) i; Srainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
& p) |0 X' p+ ]5 [; n O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
" t+ B$ e! I+ B* B; L# WHis 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
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
2 B+ h. P, F" I3 Cbeginning about head high.
! O# G. A! y7 [# ]T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
  Q8 R' Y) k$ C" x, F9 O+ Oand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
! v9 P7 |0 l! Y4 VOn the way he noticed that a local business was
  B) J8 Y4 P% C: k+ s% chaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
1 z, c, ]+ c8 p2 R- D6 Qstopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
' i4 E- K( S0 e. P* ~with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
" p2 r# Z* g* G) q1 y8 membroidered right in the center. It was just  
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, a/ }1 P! O0 M4 R  V# M% ?the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
' P" M2 d9 A. q  U  ZB y this time it had started to snow. An older
. O5 K6 V! z& ?# @" iwoman running from the opposite direction was
& \% z" `, p) k: a6 r. A8 Etrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
0 J7 }; C$ S5 ]+ u* K1 t. ythe next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
% u4 m5 b# q% X- R# Owhile he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
' {1 T/ ], t" V( t  {up 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
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
4 m8 M: }& L0 d9 Q9 rthe 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
& }  R1 D' \9 C9 Vmade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
6 N" b& w% i4 T, C  k1 Ttold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
% v# t% ~! \( M7 z. xwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
: M5 @! h! j( ~& l& OHer husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
1 j! N( x6 R. q7 x! s+ yhusband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
9 X# Y# T4 H; j% i( @1 i7 Mbut 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
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
+ p  D) \, j+ `+ X! Z+ Wfor 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
. J$ h2 Q" t: z& k0 [pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
  s, h$ K! g5 u8 X: L' iOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
# c) Q2 P# [! ^  N# Opews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
* m) ?0 M6 j# o4 V7 ?The 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
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
2 N7 h* e' `' F, i8 u6 XH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
' i3 ^5 f1 d. l- F: [  J7 Rsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
" p4 a3 E, s1 e+ c+ uagain all the 35 years between.
% v# g) b3 D6 nT he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
0 V4 b4 l0 O' p  w' f; E* |1 [- @5 XIsland and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
% O8 `- W# D# K2 ?$ [the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
+ c8 X' j3 w; c" B5 k) ^6 [$ rreunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
% I9 d* f% n2 P9 f2 u& owho says God does work in mysterious ways.
I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
: g" ?3 E: w4 k% R! Aalong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
0 r  E3 d: ^* O! C, D5 b0 R' M0 ucares we know He will see us through.
# p' }5 H! R6 c, }S o when the road you're traveling seems
$ h8 m4 p; Z7 D  J- n' x* N' 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
1 m: T7 {; O. t* |) vto 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
3 \) g3 p4 ?2 f, qseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
8 ?1 a0 \  |* M, d  psay the following small prayer for the person
" P/ x  a. \. d  G2 Fwho sent this to you.
. Q9 y, k: {. \% VFather, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
$ D" i* D4 s4 K0 rever it is that You know they may be needing this
8 x: A9 |5 e$ s) J/ \$ sday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
) b) Y5 B( Z, u7 fprosperity and power as they seek to have a
* d4 l( Z0 B7 D: Y1 o  N$ K# _closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!