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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, 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 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
The air was still cold, but even
without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
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