|
Jenny's
Pearls
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 them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give
up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure. Jenny's father is
like our heavenly Father. He also is waiting for us to give up our dime store stuff and seek
Him first... so He can fling open the windows of Heaven and pour us out such a blessing that
we will not have room enough to hold it. What are you hanging on to?
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.
[back to stories
index]
***give me your comments about this
page***
check out the Highest
TRUTH
(posted 20 April 2003)
|