THE LETTER
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. 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 twelve 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, lady?" 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 a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on
the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda
hungry 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 a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for
dinner 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!"
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 and 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. But as she did, she
noticed another envelope in her mailbox. "That's odd. The mailman
doesn't usually come twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the
box and opened it.
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
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