The cheerful 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 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
neighbour and asked Mrs. McJames 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 when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes,
Daddy. You know that 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 favourite."
"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 so 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. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with
one hand
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 as 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 of?
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 of?
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 to take its place.
--Author unknown. Found circulating the Web via email.
A Fun, Faith 'n Funny Bone Feature 
