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Ruth went to her mail box, and there was only one letter. She picked it up and
looked at it before opening it, but then she looked at the letter 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 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.
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
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
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