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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 haveanything 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,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 wantedto.
"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 thisone."

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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