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 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.