RUTH'S VISITOR

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
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 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 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.

IF YOU KNOW WHO WROTE THIS
PLEASE LET ME KNOW
SO I CAN GIVE THAT PERSON HIS OR HER DUE
AND
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP ;-)

Contact information
Mark James
phone 516-835-9996
my email is dannsirs@yahoo.com