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 mommy 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 m y
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.
God will never take away something without giving
you something better in its place.
You can do two things with this story:
1. Pass it on and let others be touched by its
message.
2. Throw it away and not let it touch your heart.
The greatest gifts happen when you share love and
touch others.
