[Faith-talk] the tablecloth

Mon Jan 6 02:19:09 UTC 2014

sorry for the late response.

I love! love! love! this story!! no matter how many times I hear it it always manages to make me cry or at least get teary eyed...

On Dec 11, 2013, at 5:25 PM, Rob Kaiser wrote:

> Please read and pass on. 
> 
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> Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason 
> 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 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 Nazis came, she was forced to leave. 
> Her husband was going to follow her the next week. 
> He was captured, sent to prison and she 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 in all the 35 years 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.
> 
> 
> 
> 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 
> 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 we know He will see us through.
> 
> 
> 
> So when the road you're traveling 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 remember 
> to send it back to the one who asked God to bless 
> you first.
> 
> 
> 
> When 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
> 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
> 
> closer relationship with You. Amen.
> 
> 
> 
> Then send it on to five other people, including the 
> one who sent it to you. Within hours five people have
> prayed for you and you caused a multitude of people 
> to pray for other people. Then, sit back and watch the 
> power of God work in your life.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> P. S. Five is good, but more is better.
> 
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