The Tablecloth

propeller

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason
  C* U; N! e5 h5 ?% {5 M; n


3 o# F( c- x. I- y6 ?! W The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
% Z% I& [. E* E( ^7 R$ c; Rto their first ministry, to reopen a church
' ]  F$ Q% e4 L6 A2 e: Ain suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
, r5 B& c% e8 D- d- Zexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
( e9 X3 X2 l6 h8 @much work. They set a goal to have everything
5 _2 E8 l! d! Q/ @3 Q/ i2 N" kdone in time to have their first service
on Christmas Eve.
T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
  i; L! B- k( z4 F& i* ]painting, etc, and on December 18
# w# O) O4 E) O9 lwere ahead of schedule and just about finished.
6 \+ K5 M. }, O* E4 h. `4 QO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
5 o& `7 {5 _! S O n the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
" ^9 T& l% ?' a4 u  O+ L. cHis heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
& t+ p* ~( L2 R% r( R3 u% ^20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
, a- ~& Z1 D, X* W! P7 G# N$ b9 Tof the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.
! M) t4 a9 q( L- G& m9 B8 XT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
+ D. E% r: u& z; `0 Lthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
$ F* l# w/ D- YOn the way he noticed that a local business was
3 X( S" F5 v' Ehaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
6 L, D4 |+ l1 d, [$ x) h, y3 p9 zembroidered right in the center. It was just  


6 |: W4 |: v9 S; D$ ]) r3 u, \

+ G9 w8 d# ~1 r! c, ?$ J* ~' w

; x& @' Y  l: K4 C3 Dthe right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
( ?( s; _7 p* A" \6 f7 nB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
7 f/ |2 g) o$ T- q; Jtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
& V1 S0 G) c( U1 u8 N# Z2 y* iinvited her to wait in the warm church for
the next bus 45 minutes later.

! X! s- \+ v2 ?$ p4 |8 YShe 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.
' c+ h% [5 k6 u( M$ w( I) dT hen he noticed the woman walking down the center
1 `- \! w) k- C6 b7 C# [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
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
% e' \" n/ w" z; X8 }; A$ X3 fit there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
& N4 l3 k  J$ @+ u) eT he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
7 h' b4 @5 |8 {3 L. ctold how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The
: N" _  ]$ J+ L6 c/ Kwoman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

* t# q  P# g# T3 F) b' }" n% `When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
" L9 K! i" O! f) ?* W9 r# ~He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
% S" J4 s; H' e+ f$ e2 [8 v# ~husband or her home again.
0 n1 D$ u7 Z8 k- y! TT he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
: t; Q1 K0 G0 C4 |: L; x  M, H/ B0 sThe pastor insisted on driving her home. That
, K/ l+ E- d( N. A7 \+ |was the least he could do. She lived on the other
  ^# Q8 m# [3 k; Uside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
7 {7 U5 Q' L( x, g' Ffor the day for a housecleaning job.
: F% Z3 d; R; d0 F' VW 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
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return..
+ J: x8 G; b0 _5 {5 v$ V! hOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
% C; t/ r' k5 M% s" B2 ufrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
: B' W- s+ G  }8 jpews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
; {9 f% g: F# Iwasn't leaving.
' d- T3 F. ~6 c0 i2 X. sThe man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
) G% {  ?1 n  N; i' ~8 lthe front wall because it was identical to one
9 l7 L3 G9 U0 {3 I( Z* Mthat his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
8 E7 w( y* J& @8 n. M' ?4 hcould there be two tablecloths so much alike?
$ M7 n" o( D( ^& s% k4 C4 YH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
) M! `3 j6 b' ^& X0 y( c. r1 wsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
4 G' J7 m: p( x$ }( _$ L  Kagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
! W6 s' r1 z5 {  U+ Htake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
8 Q( y4 K; x  T2 K5 }( V3 [Island 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
. [: ^- \# _  c6 H; nthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
: f8 k3 Z0 }0 H, a7 C0 M1 C. Breunion he could ever imagine.
T rue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.
9 F: q' j6 p3 e( k: lI asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
( j1 A3 ^1 Y' C* m' Ialong your way. His love is always with you. His
promises are true, and when we give Him all our
2 M' @+ x# p( `2 x4 \cares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
  \7 D& r9 l2 S/ Mdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
" L6 [8 i; v( L/ t2 ]! N* Nto those you want God to bless and remember
to send it back to the one who asked God to bless
you first.
& m0 Y, _" N, \8 W6 ~) JW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
- C# N2 @  X( Xseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
: V1 P) F5 R) s9 R9 l1 j$ wsay the following small prayer for the person
who 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
  p* B  D. `9 ]8 M/ G1 y) `day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
6 Y1 k- f+ Y' r$ y: c+ Tprosperity and power as they seek to have a
closer relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!