Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it
up
and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope
again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She
read the letter:
Dear Ruth:
I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to
stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would
the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to
offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run
down to the store and buy something for dinner."
She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. All she could
scrounge up was five dollars and forty cents. "Well, I can get some bread
and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.
A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of
milk...leaving Ruth with grand total of 21 cents to last her until
Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager
offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey lady, can you help us out?" a voice echoed in the cold. Ruth had
been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures
huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in
little more than rags. "Look, lady, I ain't got no job, ya know, and my
wife and I have been living out here on the street awhile, and well, if
you could help us, lady, we'd really appreciate it."
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly,
she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really
wanted to. "Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All
I have is just a few cold cuts and some bread. I'm having an important
guest tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him." "Yeah, well,
okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the
woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.
As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart
"Sir, wait a minute!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the
alley after them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out
something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag.
"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!" It was the man's
wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering. "You know, I've got
another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one." Ruth unbuttoned
her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she
turned and walked back to the street...without her coat...with nothing
to
serve her guest. Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too.
The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him.
She fumbled through her purse for the door key, and as she did, she
noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
"That's odd, she thought to herself. The mailman doesn't usually come
twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
It
read:
Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank
you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no
longer noticed...