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 a grand total of twelve cents to last
her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt 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 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, OK
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.