THE NECKLACE
May 3, 2009The Necklace
cheerful little 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 mommy 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 out 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 as 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 very 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 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; this is 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 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 the
genuine treasure. 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
treasures.God will never take away something without giving you something better in its
place..You can do two things with this story:A. Pass it on and let others be touched
by its message;B. Throw it away and not let it touch your
heart.The greatest gifts happen when you share love and touch 
others (Thanks to Deaconess Marlene Moseley-Young for this contribution).
Posted by Peter Collman.
God is presently isseing a summons to all people to return unto just as you are. There is no worry on your part, he has promised that he will rebuild you as you ought to be,he will fill you as you ought to be and he will gladly take care of you as promised in his word. So why the delay make haste before it is too late. Jahovah bless you as you turn to him. 