The Pearls
Jenny was a bright-eyed,
pretty five-year-old girl. One day when she
and her mother were checking
out at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced
at $2.50. How she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother
if she would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace,
but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what.
I'll buy you the necklace, and when we get home we can make up a list of
chores that you can do to pay for the necklace. And don't forget
that for your birthday Grandma just might give you a whole dollar bill,
too. Okay?"
Jenny agreed, and her mother
bought the pearl necklace for her. Jenny
worked on her chores very
hard every day, and sure enough, her grandma gave her a brand new dollar
bill for her birthday. Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls.
How Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere - - to kindergarten, bed and when she went out with her mother to run errands. The only time she didn't wear them was in the shower. (Her mother had told her that they would turn her neck green!)
Now Jenny had a very loving
daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would
get up from his favorite
chair every night and read Jenny her favorite
story. One night when
he finished the story, he said, "Jenny, do you love
me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you," the little girl said.
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!"
Jenny said. "But you can have Rosie, my
favorite doll. Remember
her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you
can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?"
"Oh no, darling, that's okay."
Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss.
"Good night, little one."
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her story, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you."
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls!
But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse.
Do you remember her?
She's my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you
can play with it and braid
it and everything. You can have Ribbons if
you want her, Daddy,"
the little girl said to her father.
"No, that's okay," her father
said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss.
"God bless you, little one.
Sweet dreams."
Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling. "Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand.
With one hand her father
held the plastic pearls and with the other he
pulled out of his pocket
a blue velvet box. Inside of the box were real, genuine, beautiful
pearls. He had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny
to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing.
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 treasure.
Isn't God good?
Are you holding onto things
which God wants you to let go off. Are you
holding on to harmful or
unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and
activities which 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
If this teaches nothing else
let you realize that the greatest gifts happen when you share love and
touch others hearts.