Who would like to have a beatiful tablecloth for Christmas? Read on..?

Question

The Tablecloth
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> The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
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> to their first ministry, to reopen a church
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> in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October
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> excited about their opportunities. When they saw
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> their church, it was very run down and needed
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> much work. They set a goal to have everything
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> done in time to have their first service
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> on Christmas Eve.
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> They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
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> painting, etc, and on December 18
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> were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
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> ;
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> On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving
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> rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
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> On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
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> His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
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> leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
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> 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the
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> sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about
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> head high.
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> The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
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> and not knowing what else to do but postpone
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> the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
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> On the way he noticed that a local business was
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> having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
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> handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
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> with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross
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> embroidered right in the center. It was just
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> the right size to cover up the hole in the front
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> wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
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> By this time it had started to snow. An older
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> woman running from the opposite direction was
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> trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor
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> invited her to wait in the warm church for
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> the next bus 45 minutes later.
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> She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
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> while he got a ladder, hangers , etc., to put
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> up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
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> could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and
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> it covered up the entire problem area.
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> Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
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> aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor,"
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> she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
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> The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
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> the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were
> crocheted into
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> it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman,
> and she had
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> made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .
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> The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
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> told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The
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> woman explained that before the war she and
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> her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
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> When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
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> Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
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> He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
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> husband or her home again.
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> The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
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> but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
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> The pastor insisted on driving her home, that
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> was the least he could do.. She lived on the other
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> side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn
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> for the day for a housecleaning job.
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> ;
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> What a wonderful service they had on Christmas
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> Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
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> spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
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> pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
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> and many said that they would return.
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> One older man, whom the pastor recognized
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> from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
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> pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
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> wasn't leaving.
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> The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
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> the front wall because it was identical to one
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> that his wife had made years ago when
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> they lived in Austria before the war and how
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> could th ere be two tablecloths so much alike.
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> He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
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> forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
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> supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
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> put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home
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> again all the 35 years in between.
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> The pastor asked him if he would allow him to
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> take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten > > Island and to the same house where the pastor
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> had taken the woman three days earlier.
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> He helped the man climb the three flights of
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> stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
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> the door and he saw the greatest Chri stmas
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> reunion he could ever imagine.
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> True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
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> Who says God does not work in mysterious ways..
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> I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for
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> you today, to guide you and protect you as you go
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> along your way. His love is always with you, His
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> promises are true, and when we give Him all our
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> cares you know He will see us through.
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> So when the road you're traveling on seems
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> difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here
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> praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on
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> to those you want God to bless.

Answer 1

God will never cease to amaze me! Thank you for that beautiful story.

Merry Christmas.

Answer 2

Great story. Obviously a chain email, but I do hope it's true. Thank you for sharing.

Answer 3

i got this as an e-mail one time thought it was great. still do

Answer 4

WHAT AN AWESOME STORY. THANK YOU ......