"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. When she got to the
store she bought 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 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!" said 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. 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.
THIS IS A SIMPLE TEST......
If you love Jesus, send this to ten people and the person that
sent
it to you.