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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
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. 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 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 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 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 partners, relationships, habits and
activities that you have become 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.
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