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,
Dear Ruth,
I'm going to be in your neighborhood this Christmas and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus
Ruth's 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.
With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. It's already Christmas Eve and the stores will be closing. I'll have to run down out and buy something for dinner right away."
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 of twelve cents to last her until next week.
Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings of a Christmas dinner 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 here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, it's Christmas Eve, 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 Christmas 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 a gentle snow began to fall.
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!" Ruth could see now that the woman 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! .... and Merry Christmas!"
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 deliver on Christmas Eve."
She took the envelope out of the box and opened and read it.
Dear Ruth,
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely Christmas dinner. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus
The air was still cold, and the snow was falling even harder, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
