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." 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.

That is a beautiful story. It really makes you stop and think.

Thanks for sharing that! I love it and so true it is!

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When Jesus returns, will you be ready???

Ms J, I sooo needed that tonite!! I loved it! thanks for sharing it!!!! luv ya

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You must do the thing you think you cannot do~
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Thank you so much for the reminder.

What a nice story. Thanks for sharing!

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Formerly known as Mrs12bfishin

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* Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it's realized that our liberties and wealth are in jeopardy.

~Ron Paul

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
- James Madison