Jenny's Pearls


 

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.  Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of  glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh Mommy please, Mommy. Can  I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back  of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her  little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00.  If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time  you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week  away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After  dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and  asked Mrs. Mc James if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.  On her birthday,  Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to  buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up  and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to  bed.  The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.  Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would  stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.

One night as  he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy.  You know that I love you."

"Then give me your  pearls."  "Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy?  The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you.  Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later,  after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your  pearls."

"Oh  Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for  my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow
blanket that matches  her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy  loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.

As he came close, he noticed her  chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it,  Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her  little hand up to her daddy.  And when she opened it, there was her little pearl  necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy; this is for  you."  With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one h and to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of  genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

He had them all the time. He was  just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the  genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to  give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful  treasures.

Isn't God good? Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of? Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary, habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing.  God  will never take away something without giving  you something better in its place.