The
following story was a TRUE story that was shared with me by a friend of mine.
This is a wonderful Christmas story which shows why Christmas is sometimes considered
the season of hope and miracles.
A Christmas Miracle: The Tablecloth
~ submitted by Pastor Rob Reid ~
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| liliesapparel.com |
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 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. 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 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.
What an awesome story!!! This story
demonstrates how we should never lose hope when all seems lost. You never know when a miracle is just around
the corner!!
Thanks Stella!!!!
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Have any
stories or interesting tidbits? Email me richmullercoach@gmail.com
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Have a Blessed Christmas Season!!!
Live. Laugh. Love
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Note: In addition to writing my own blogs / stories, I also like to search for
stories and other inspiring / motivating / encouraging things from around the
World Wide Web. If you see an article or story that you have written and want
it removed, please feel free to let me know. I do try to give credit to the
people and/or web sites that I find the information when I can.
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