THE LETTER

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She pickedit up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelopeagain. 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 visitme? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered herempty kitchencabinets.

Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buysomething for dinner." She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars andforty cents.

"Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her coat and hurried out thedoor. A loaf of french bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth withgrand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headedhome, 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'teven noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed inlittle more than rags.

"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on thestreet, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you couldhelp us, lady, we'd really appreciate it."

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly, she was certainthat 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 andsome bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning onserving that to Him."

"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around thewoman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruthfelt 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 handedthe 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." Ruthunbuttoned 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 nothingto 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 wascoming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse forthe 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 envelopeout 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 thebeautiful coat.

Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

THIS IS A SIMPLE TEST.......