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 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 when 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 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 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 had them all the time. He was just waiting for her
to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.
So like our Heavenly Father. Wonder what we're hanging on
to...
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