A Visit From Jesus
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
frenchbread, 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!" 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.
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