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
0 m  G% d$ N2 A/ L+ i# kto their first ministry, to reopen a church
, |; S. T, J3 U, O  W3 O* hin suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
; A1 A2 G/ z9 G( b: }& z8 Hexcited about their opportunities. When they saw
( L5 j5 r+ x% T% ]# i0 u, Xtheir church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
5 R* W" Y* z6 X0 ^: `7 @done in time to have their first service
5 \9 O/ q+ V; `8 a9 fon Christmas Eve.
7 w1 A& h1 ]2 ]8 e/ }T hey worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
; H+ B0 F. I5 M2 v- Y; ypainting, etc, and on December 18
2 G' n( H0 o7 ~/ a6 R9 H7 {were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
0 S, K3 H* L; H7 O4 LO n December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
7 v* P# f- p  m: o0 krainstorm 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
: p- ~3 q1 G+ c% ~* S* Vleaked, causing a large area of plaster about
$ ]" [% @9 l7 l. V20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
( N+ M) P7 @. ]  S' |5 ibeginning about head high.
' ~& I2 G; o1 W" E% ?5 [7 xT he pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
. B2 F  Z  z- D7 r0 Bthe Christmas Eve service, headed home.
& x& A3 h* y: R$ I3 C! v; p( D& tOn the way he noticed that a local business was
/ g/ [, J1 M% k3 Rhaving a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
0 Y& F( g6 U) B& v6 Zwith exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
( f4 L& n8 V3 i6 d- dembroidered right in the center. It was just  
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the right size to cover the hole in the front all. He bought it and headed back to the church.
4 _: \6 z0 \  a9 r5 j' WB y this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
; j. l" r' y9 h& m" Vtrying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for
3 O( i, K/ I) R! {7 }" z7 ]the next bus 45 minutes later.
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0 Q+ `" T: E; z: m' s+ dShe sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
; T. G$ c" |9 S; c0 mup 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
5 E* t8 Y$ d4 F0 `aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
1 ^) A5 S9 \& k+ L. ~2 wshe asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
$ a, x" F3 O& M. [8 r+ h: Kthe 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
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
T he woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
1 ]" x+ T) r) ^6 ~% S' D  jtold 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 .

( B' p! O( B/ k- JWhen the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.
T he pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
( e! j, `6 ^4 e+ C, `) lbut she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
- \' \! a1 ^3 v) g. Gwas the least he could do. She lived on the other
, \0 h' h, n& b+ g& x  Q: Cside of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  
for 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
9 X5 a4 j6 g0 c( m; n0 _6 fspirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
* ^0 N: E' {7 l2 z8 s; w1 y( z: @# L0 wand many said that they would return..
  B) T8 K  i0 }: U6 W$ z* xOne older man, whom the pastor recognized
0 S  O, I$ f. }3 cfrom the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
0 C" |) D( l7 q. e+ d6 }2 ^! ]wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
/ p5 \4 F. `; O8 T- v& Sthe 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
# K" k# k" }# o' ^could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
/ R0 j3 y% ?8 d8 F. q: e4 WH e told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
3 g, V& ?% w2 v' Z5 |forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
! m$ D& r% f1 U0 k2 dsupposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
6 @! ?6 N* r" N8 H/ Wput in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home
3 a5 X/ i/ N1 C1 Tagain all the 35 years between.
T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
8 N) K6 H% ^! l; H( U. m/ ntake him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
$ V0 E' _) l' R4 E8 @Island and to the same house where the pastor
7 g" I: {& h/ b# b( |, E0 H9 m" Fhad taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of
1 a- R: O" s+ K( T# o) p! q7 Z( Bstairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
" E. }2 e& Z& {' C1 I$ R# A6 Nthe door and he saw the greatest Christmas
8 V8 G  g: u9 V) |; i& a/ p+ Vreunion he could ever imagine.
: Z4 k$ i; \0 VT 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
, ~; {( c( V+ `" H+ P5 e% vyou today, to guide you and protect you as you go
: `3 ]& s9 [7 j" m" \  S/ f: v, K! |/ lalong your way. His love is always with you. His
1 ~6 j7 X  v  k* t4 {0 W# j- |promises are true, and when we give Him all our
- ]4 l& X( a" P, j( P& vcares we know He will see us through.
S o when the road you're traveling seems
5 t  \, \3 ^3 S6 R5 y! e1 tdifficult at best, just remember I'm here
praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
% d- x, w- _1 nto those you want God to bless and remember
1 L2 Z- t# s) r/ X' k- K, Y7 w' D! Sto send it back to the one who asked God to bless
9 n* z9 s/ U. l- ?+ f, i: {you first.
- G! w, O0 v% |1 {, K6 G9 f/ m5 x- w3 iW hen there is nothing left but God, that is when
you find out that God is all you need Take 60
' g9 j; C" h1 [# ~) xseconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply
say 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
day! May their lives be full of Your peace,
prosperity and power as they seek to have a
& q; _3 E! L( B" |9 W, ^# ecloser relationship with You. Amen.

anne

thank you for your good story!