The Letter

Ruth went to her mailbox 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 kind of 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.