The Tablecloth
THE TABLECLOTH
> >
> > Absolutely beautiful! God works in mysterious ways.
> >
> > The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first
ministry,
> to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited
> about their opportunities.
> >
> > When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work.
> > They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first
> service on Christmas Eve.
> >
> > They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc.,
> and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
> > On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area
> > and lasted for two days. On 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 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the
sanctuary
> just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up
the
> mess on the floor, and 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, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted
> tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right
in
> the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front
> wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
> >
> > By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the
> opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
> invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.
> She 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.
> >
> > Then 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 the 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.
> >
> > The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told 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. When the ***** came, she
> was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
She
> was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
> The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but 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 for the day for a housecleaning job.
> >
> > What 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. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the
> neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the
pastor
> wondered why he wasn't leaving. 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.
> >
> > He told the pastor how the ***** came, how he forced his wife to flee
> > for her safety, and he was supposed 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
in
> between. The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a
> little ride. They drove to Staten 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 the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion
> > he could ever imagine.
> >
> > True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid Who says God does not 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 along your way. His love is always with you,
His
> promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He will see
> us through. So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at
> best..Just remember I'm here praying and God will do the rest.
__________________
MOLON LABE
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