be present

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, you 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.’
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.

He had one but it was a glorified toddler bike and the seat was raised as high as it could go and it was still too small. HE LOVES IT!!!!!
There was a time in my life that I feared that the best thing for my family would be if I wasn’t even here. That they would be better off without me.

I am here to say that it is not the case! I know now that I was listening to the voice of the enemy. I know now that I was believing the lies that he was whispering in my ears. I can recognize his voice now. I no longer am weakened by his whispers. In fact, I am the first to tell him that he holds no power over me. I tell him to go away and he does. At least until he figures out some other scheme to try and wiggle through with.

I know that my families lives and all the lives that I come into contact with now are indeed better off then before I did. Not because of some grand thing that I’ve done but rather because He flows through me and onto them.

When I think of all the times I almost missed out on altogether because of his lies it drops me to my knees in thankfulness for the grace that allows me a new start every day! The grace that saved my life for me until I was strong enough to live it for myself!

I AM present and accounted for!

I’ve said b4, I’ll say it again: Sobriety Rocks!