Jenny's pearl necklace

[Hubi]

The cheerful girl with the bouncy golden curls was almost five years old. While she was standing at the checkout with her mother, she discovered  a shiny, white pearl necklace in a pink plastic box.

“Oh please, mom. Can I have this? Please, please mom!”

The mother quickly looked at the bottom of the box and then back into the begging eyes of her little daughter.

“Two euros. If you really want them, I'm sure you can find a few extra things to do, which will save you enough money to buy them yourself in no time.”

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her piggy bank and counted up 55 cents.

After dinner, she cleared the table and helped with the washing up.

The next day, she went to her neighbor and asked if she could help her in the garden for 50 cents.

After all, she had enough money to buy the pearl necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls - they made her a fine lady!

She wore them everywhere: to the shops, to nursery and even to bed.

The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.

Mom said that if the necklace got wet, it would turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very sweet dad.

Every evening, as soon as she was ready for bed, he left his work and went to read her a bedtime story.

One evening, after the storytelling, he asked Jenny: “Do you love me?”

“Yes, Daddy, you know I love you.”

“Will you give me your pearl necklace then?”

“Oh no, Daddy! Not my pearls!

But you can have “Princess” - the white horse from my collection; the one with the pink tail.

Do you remember, Daddy, the one you brought me once? It's my favorite!”

“That's okay, my darling. Daddy loves you. Good night.”

He gave her a kiss on the forehead.

A week later, after the storytelling, Jenny's father asked again:

“Jenny, do you love me?”

“Yes, Daddy, you know how much I love you!”

“Then why don't you give me your pearls?”

“Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have my baby doll; the brand new one! She's soooo pretty and you can even take the yellow blanket that matches her bed.”

“That's all right. Sleep well, little one, Daddy loves you.”

And as always, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

A few nights later, when her daddy came in to see her again, Jenny was sitting cross-legged on her bed. The closer he came, the more he noticed that her chin was trembling and a tear was rolling down her cheek.

“What's wrong, Jenny? What happened?”

Jenny said nothing, lifted her small hand up to him and opened it.

There it was: her pearl necklace.

Then, in a quiet, trembling voice, she said:

“Here, Daddy. It's for you!”

With tears in his own eyes, Jenny's father lovingly held out one hand to receive the necklace from her.

With his other hand, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a blue velvet pouch with a beautiful string of real pearls and gave it to Jenny.

He had had it with him all along; he had just been waiting for her to decide to give up her worthless piece so that he could give her a real treasure!

And so it is with our heavenly Father, Jehovah.

He is just waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that He can give us a beautiful treasure.

Isn't Jehovah good to us?

Are you attached to things that Jehovah wants you to give up?

Are you so attached to harmful or unnecessary friendships, relationships, habits and activities that it seems impossible to let go?

Sometimes it's hard to see what's hidden in the other hand, but one thing is certain:

Jehovah will never ask us to give something up without replacing it with something clearly better!