Can you hear the music ?? |
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THE TREASURE
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 $2.00 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 neighbour
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 when 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 favourite." "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 babydoll. She is so 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.
It's for you."
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 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 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.
So like our heavenly Father.
The Treasure by Alice Gray as printed in "More Stories for the Heart"
Forwarded by : Ricky, CyberChurch Mailing list
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