The Letter
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 a
grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Non-the-less, she
felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey lady, can you help us?" 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. 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. Thank
you too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus |
