Ruth

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 grand total 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, b ut 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.