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THE VISIT

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, 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."

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.