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 would like to 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 it's contents 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 he 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 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 the mail
had 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. |