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 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 treasure.
 
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.



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God Bless