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------------------------SPREAD THE WORD
Ruth went to
her mailbox 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 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
livin
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.
Author Unknown
THIS IS A SIMPLE TEST.......
If you love Jesus, send this to ten people and the person
that
sent it to you !!!
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