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This is one of the significant stories about a Christmas eve that has brought a miraculous change in one’s life. There is no doubt that Christmas is meant for surprises and lovely gifts. A new pastor with his wife was assigned a duty of reopening a church in Brooklyn. They came in October with full of enthusiasm as they had opportunities. When they saw the church, they realized that the church was totally run down and needed much attention. However, they set an aim of setting everything right by the time they would initiate their first service of Christmas evening. They both worked hard, plastered the walls, painted, etc. They were contented at the appearance of the church.
The day was December 18 and they gave the final touches. On December 19th a terrible rainstorm hit the Brooklyn area and continued for two days. On December 21st, the pastor went to the church and saw the roof leaking. And it was heart breaking as the roof had caused a large area of plaster to fall off. The pastor cleaned the mess and sat in a perplexed situation as the area that had damage was the front wall behind the podium. The pastor had no better choice but to postpone the Christmas Eve service. On his way back home he noticed that the market had a charity sale and so he stepped in. As he walked through many shops, he found one item to be very beautiful. It was a handmade tablecloth in ivory color, crocheted with exquisite work, explicit colors and cross embroidered at the center. It made the right size to patch the front wall.
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The pastor was busy setting the table cloth and an old woman stood in the warmth of the church as it started to snow. He put the table cloth as a wall tapestry and it really looked magnificent. The old woman enquired from whom the pastor bought the tablecloth and checked for the initials EBG. They were there and she recollected that she and the other woman had made this before 35 years. Listening to her story about being separated from her husband because of the Nazis, the pastor insisted her to take the table cloth back, but the old woman refused. The pastor then drove her home as that was the minimal thing he could do for her. The Christmas Eve service went very well.
The pastor and his wife gleamed with joy for the overwhelming response and were shocked to see an old man who stared at the tablecloth. He said the tablecloth was identical to that his wife made it years ago. He also repeated the Nazi story. The pastor took him to the house where he had dropped an old woman three days back. The man knocked the door and pastor saw the significant reunion of Christmas that was truly unimaginable. |
