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You can do two things with this story:
a) Pretend it didn't touch your heart and go on to something else.
b) You can pass it on and let others be touched by its message
God bless you.
The Pearls
Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One
day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery
store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50. How
she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother if she
would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty
necklace, but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what.
I'll buy you the necklace, and when we get home we can make
up a list of chores that you can do to pay for the necklace.
And don't forget that for your birthday Grandma just might give
you a whole dollar bill, too. Okay?" Jenny agreed, and her mother
bought the pearl necklace for her.
Jenny worked on her chores very hard every day, and sure
enough, her grandma gave her a brand new dollar bill for her
birthday. Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls. How Jenny loved
those pearls. She wore them everywhere, to kindergarten, bed and
when she went out with her mother to run errands. The only time
she didn't wear them was in the shower-her mother had told her
that they would turn her neck green!
Now Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to
bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night and
read Jenny her favorite story. One night when he finished the
story, he said, "Jenny, do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you," the little girl
said.
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!", Jenny said. "But you can
have Rosie, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to
me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party
outfit, too. Okay?"
"Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her
cheek with a kiss. "Good night, little one."
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her
story, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you."
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons,
my toy horse. Do you remember her? She's my favorite.
Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid it and
everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy," the
little girl said to her father.
"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek
again with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."
Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read
her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was
trembling. "Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand.
She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let
it slip into her father's hand.
With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and
with the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet box.
Inside of the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls. He had
had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the
cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us
to give up the cheap things in out lives so he can give us
beautiful treasure. Isn't God good?