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
6 T& d4 g, T# |# ato their first ministry, to reopen a church
' d) K9 n/ @1 n/ w; u" \2 nin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
! _5 Y, T! z2 Amuch work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service
& N' m/ O/ W) Q. F3 R$ C' d2 con Christmas Eve.
# t5 `. R1 ?4 V* Q& o2 v) a# hT hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
# x1 S6 X+ @( ]- {% Bpainting, etc, and on December 18
& L, Z# x4 B* b  gwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
O n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
5 c/ U5 j# Y. crainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
3 {% S7 v# {' X O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
& y/ p! Z5 |8 ]' N: a  Ileaked, 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,
beginning about head high.
T he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
  J$ q* e+ o& \  d, wand not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On 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,
. M( X0 P/ K4 Z: a3 Xhandmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
% v( F; o; s4 e1 L5 e. i  Cwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
% p/ k2 a- @! N" G# H; ~- Zembroidered right in the center. It was just  
% x0 u7 m# k: b8 K
9 r) Z* o/ ]8 z, `& {! |* N


- @9 o% o+ W. c2 W- |. b8 A7 a
; U+ M7 {' Z& E3 H) S/ B
the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
9 l; O. w% Q2 h: \' EB y this time it had started to snow. An older
" i2 m% y& w* ?5 j4 N" H/ v9 rwoman running from the opposite direction was
+ r5 W* \# `  W$ f# M! Rtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
) B; `# K" N, I9 U6 X/ _3 uthe next bus 45 minutes later.
( `; L% Z# E7 f; n6 q; v
) _" e* g8 t1 ?* b( ^She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
5 \5 [" X( f+ ^! W1 V7 [1 xwhile 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.
, P) K! A" F  w. z( HT 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?"
% s  f9 ~- _9 d4 xThe pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
, ?9 B5 m# x* K  Zit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
, l+ j0 k! F4 p- V4 |9 Emade this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
' d4 ^/ p2 M( G* tT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
% b6 u2 K. c5 p8 Otold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
' {! |7 ~/ U2 s# A$ k) Z0 w
/ E2 J" g  q9 X; \; kWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
" r9 e( ~2 j( V8 ^$ k' R1 \* ~. uHe was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
& e8 S6 I0 _' }T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
2 |" n0 |# r/ `( Gbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
9 u0 e) K4 g2 H4 k, _- m7 q8 NThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
7 e# W# G( r" b- }, i& qwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
( k& `' W! V1 O: j* T$ Yfor the day for a housecleaning job.
8 o: T3 l! f5 T! q3 M0 qW hat a wonderful service they had on Christmas
8 ?3 }6 r$ [, L* H  S$ q, z' @( ^( Z9 DEve. The church was almost full. The music and the
% K' _& c- m: C5 Dspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
3 |: _# S" s, Spastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
" w  h% j9 T: f+ ?One older man, whom the pastor recognized
* k% W0 {2 S: u0 Bfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.
! X/ ]  [+ z6 }The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
" L' c7 [9 o( Pthat his wife had made years ago when
9 U4 @% a3 Z6 `4 o3 ~' }$ sthey lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
5 i2 B# S' M( \: g- z" X* P1 h7 j* mH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
2 p: M4 f, Y1 W  T5 Y/ _9 bsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
* L" h& V! f# b# iput 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
( H2 D3 I" J4 N+ W2 Btake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
) J( b3 S! y* u+ Yhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
+ L& w6 Y( [+ T" x8 t( rstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
9 m& P9 @" I# ]9 Zreunion 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
- R- U6 u  S1 e0 @' byou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
along your way. His love is always with you. His
* c3 L9 {4 @4 X6 ~% Zpromises are true, and when we give Him all our
" [6 e" j, A0 o$ acares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
& |; x. a6 c  x4 j& O1 Vdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
+ P/ v$ l7 x1 \2 r4 Fpraying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
to those you want God to bless and remember
( Z& }/ V% P  V1 I/ Wto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
0 N5 `7 q5 `9 }: Lyou 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
# A" S+ }2 A- A0 l; k8 R% Rsay the following small prayer for the person
4 j' J' {3 `& ]& z! L$ b$ wwho sent this to you.
Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what
/ t2 e9 \: x) `ever it is that You know they may be needing this
( [; l9 p# a' \, }1 M' i4 @# }; uday! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
( G: `. C* Y: b/ Jcloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!