The Letter

July 20, 2007

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. 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 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 beyway. 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 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.....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. - Author Unknown - Visit : Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/

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