FW: The Crocheted Tablecloth

[Guest guest]

Subject: FW: The Crocheted TableclothTo: Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009, 2:18 PM

TRUE STORY THAT

WILL STAND THE HAIR ON YOUR HEAD AND

GIVE YOU FAITH AT THE SAME TIME!

SO AWESOME!

The Crocheted Tablecloth

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 up the hole in the front

wall. He bought it and headed backto 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

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.

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 simplysay the following small prayer for

the person who sent you this.Father, God, bless all my friends

and

family in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their

life be full of your peace, prosperity and

power and HEALTH!!!!! as he/she seeks

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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