Pearls

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was five.  Waiting
with her
mother at the check-out counter, she saw 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 box and then looked
into
the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.  “A
dollar
ninety-five.  That's almost two dollars.  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 is only a week
away, and
you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her piggy bank and
counted
out 17 pennies.  After dinner she did more than her share of
chores. The
next day she asked her neighbor if she could pick dandelions
for a
quarter.  On her birthday, Grandma did give her another crisp
dollar bill,
and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls.  She wore them everywhere: to Sunday
school,
kindergarten, even to bed.  The only time she took them off
was when
she went swimming or took her bubble bath.  Mother said that
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 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
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, 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
new
one I got for my birthday.  She is so beautiful and you can
have the
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 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 trembling and one silent tear rolling down her cheek.  "What is it
Jenny?  What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything, but lifted her little hands up.
And when she
opened them, inside was her little pearl necklace.  With a
quiver she
mumbled, "Here, daddy, it's 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 put them around her neck.  He had them all
the time.
He was just waiting for her to give up the dime store stuff so
that he
could give her a 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 that He
can fling
open the windows of Heaven and pour out to us such a blessing
that we will
not have enough room to hold it.

What are you hanging on to?

Author Unknown