ONE NEVER KNOWS

ONE NEVER KNOWS

If any among you are tempted to feel sad or depressed during this Christmas season due to a lack of resources or the loss of a loved one, you must read and share the following story written by an unknown author.  It will surely inspire and bless you.

 A pastor and his wife were given their first assignment, to reopen a church in Brooklyn, New York. They arrived in early October, thrilled beyond measure to be entering an exciting new phase of ministry.  However, as they entered the church, their enthusiasm faded when they found the building to be run down and in dire need of restoration and repair.  But right then and there, they set a goal to have all the necessary work done in time to have their first worship service on Christmas Eve.

 They worked diligently, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18th they were well ahead of schedule, just about finished.  Nevertheless, on December 19th a terrible winter storm hit the area and lasted two days.

 On the 21st of December, the pastor went over to inspect the church edifice.  His heart sank when he found that the roof had leaked, which caused a large area of plaster to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary behind the pulpit. The pastor swept up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do, he headed homeward, planning to postpone their first service.  On the way home he noticed a local business sponsoring a flea market for charity, so he decided to stop by.

 One of the items on sale was a beautiful, hand-made, ivory colored, crochet table cloth.  It was truly an exquisite work of art, with striking colors and an ornate cross embroidered at the center.  The new pastor thought, ‘It’s just the right size to cover up that hole in the front wall of the sanctuary!’  So he bought it and quickly headed back to church.

 By that time it had started to snow.  An older woman hurried from the opposite direction, trying to catch a passing bus, but she missed it.  The pastor invited her to wait inside the warm sanctuary for the next bus, which was due to arrive 45 minutes later.  The grateful woman sat in a pew and paid little attention to the pastor while he gathered a ladder and wall hangers to mount the gorgeous tablecloth as a wall tapestry.  The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and how perfectly it covered the entire problem area.  Just then, he noticed the woman walking slowly down the center aisle, wearing a shocked facial expression.

 “Pastor,” she inquired, “Where…where…did you get that tablecloth?”  The pastor related the story of his recent purchase.  Then the woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials “EBG” were present there, and they were.  These were actually the initials of that very woman, who had made the tablecloth herself, 35 years previously while living in Austria.

 The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do citizens of Austria.  When the Nazis arrived, her husband sent her to safety, and planned to follow the next week.  Unfortunately, she was captured, detained in a camp, and never saw her husband or her home again.  The pastor offered to give her the tablecloth, but she insisted that he keep it for the church.  He said, “Then I will drive you home; that is the least I can do.”  The woman lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day doing a housecleaning job.

 Christmas Eve arrived, and what a wonderful service they had!  The church was practically full, and the Holy Spirit moved upon the hearts of all who attended.  At the close of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many people promised to return often.

 One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews with a blank stare on his face, and the pastor wondered why he did not leave with all the rest.  The man asked, “Where did you get the tablecloth on the front wall?  It’s identical to one my wife made years ago when we lived in Austria before the war.  Could there be two tablecloths so much alike?”  He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for safety with plans to follow her, but then he was arrested and placed in a concentration camp.  He never saw his wife or his home again for all the 35 years in between.

 The pastor smiled inwardly and asked the gentleman if he would accompany him on a ride.  They drove to Staten Island, to the same building where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.  He helped the elderly man climb three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and saw the greatest Christmas reunion one could ever imagine!  What a miraculous story of the matchless grace and marvelous love of our God!

 Consider this.  None of this heartwarming story would have been possible without that terrible winter storm and the resultant hole in the church sanctuary!  My friends, very often our apparent ‘storms’ are divine appointments in disguise that ultimately bless us and others.

 In truth, ONE NEVER KNOWS WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE.  So…please…do not surrender to doubt or despair.  It is my prayer that your Christmas will be endowed with the fullness of peace and joy that is the life and legacy of OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

 Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!