I heard this story on my favorite christian radio station yesterday, and it brought tears to my eyes. It's great to be reminded that just like Jenny's father, my Heavenly father has something bigger and better in mind for me. All I have to do is stop hanging on to the smaller, less great things.
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. 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 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 piggy bank and counted out 17 pennies. After
dinner, she did more than her share of chores. She went to the neighbor, Mrs.
McJames, and asked 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 had told
her 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 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 may I have 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 will you 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, Honey. 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. 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 prized necklace. With the other hand he reached into his
pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case. He handed the handsome velvet case to
Jenny and told her, "Thank you for giving me your most prized possesion that you
even saved for all by yourself. Here Honey, I have this for you also. I wanted
to trade you, but I was going to give these to you tonight either way."
As Jenny pryed open the blue velvet box, so nice a thing itself she'd never
known, the glistening white sheen of the rich genuine pearls struck her teary
eyes.
