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A 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 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. T hese were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, inAustria
T he 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.
W hat 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
two20tablecloths so much alike.
H e 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.
H e 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. |
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