The Tablecloth
Posted by: ian.beed <ian.beed@...>
This story was sent to me the other day. Our God indeed is a wonderful God and His mercies endure for ever, Amen
The Tablecloth
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 Dec, 18 were ahead of schedule
and just about finished. On Dec. 19th 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 white 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 Nazis 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 Nazis 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.
Pass this on to those you want God to bless, and don't forget to send it
back to the one who asked God to bless you first. This is a beautiful
story....you will see how wonderful God truly is.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
these is love.
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