05/05/2013
~The story is originally by Alice Gray~
Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One day she & her mother were visiting a shop & she saw a plastic pearl necklace that didn’t cost much. How she wanted that necklace, & when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, I’ll buy them for your birthday. Jenny really loved those pearls. They made her feel dressed up & 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.
Now Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night & 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, & you can play with it & braid it & everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy," the little girl said to her father. "No, that's okay," her father said & 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, & held out her hand. She opened it & her precious pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand. With one hand her father held the plastic pearls & with the other he pulled out of his pocket a small red velvet bag. Inside of the bag were real, genuine, beautiful pearls. He had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap pearls she was holding on to, so he could give her one of more value .
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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.
Are you holding onto things which The Lord wants you to let go of ? Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits & activities which 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.... The Lord will never take away something without giving you something much better in its place. God Bless You!!
“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, & what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper u & not to harm u, plans to give u hope & a future. Then u will call on me & come & pray to me, & I will listen to u. You will seek me & find me when u seek me with all ur
