The cheerful little girl 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 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 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.
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 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 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 quiver she finally said, “Here, daddy. This is for
you.”
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s daddy reached
out with one have to take the dime-store necklace, and with
the other hand 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 her 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 partners, relationships, 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.
