The Treasure
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]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!"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Quickly the mother checked the back of the 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."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her piggy bank and counted 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.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]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 to take a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]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?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Oh, yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Then give me your pearls."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"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."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Daddy, you know I love you."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"Then give me your pearls."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"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."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]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.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]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. It's for you." [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other 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 genuine treasure.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Sometimes we try so hard to hang to the cheap material objects of this world. If we were to just realize that our Father has so much more in store for us and all we have to do is trust and follow Him. So how much longer do you want to hang on to your dime-store pearls?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Geneva, sans serif]Author Unknown[/FONT]
Well, I don't watch much tv so I just hadn't heard about it and no one here at home was watching it that night. They mentioned it at the church service the following morning. 
hello stormboy~! have a great week ya~
