The cheerful little girl with bouncy 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 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 to do and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday is only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
For the next week Jenny did more than her share of chores, and on her birthday her Grandma did give her a new dollar bill. At last she had enough money to buy the pearls.
Jenny loved her pearls. She wore them everywhere. They made her feel pretty and grownup. She even wore them to bed.
Every night when Jenny was ready for bed her daddy would 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. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me? She's my very favorite."
"That's okay, honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he kissed her goodnight on the cheek.
About a week later after story time Jenny's daddy asked again, "Jenny, do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know that 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's 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 kissed her goodnight on the cheek.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed. As he came close he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear was rolling 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. When she opened it, there was her pearl necklace. With a quiver in her voice she finally said, " Here, Daddy, these are for you." With tears in his own eyes Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store pearls, 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 real thing.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap imitations in our lives so 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 onto harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits or activities that you have become so attached to that it seems impossible to let it go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in His 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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Well said :)
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