"Then give me your pearls."
The Pearl
Necklace or the way the love of a father reflects the love that God has for
us.
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 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 come 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.
The greatest gifts happen when you share love and
touch others.
