The Necklace

This has always been on of my favorite stories, and a great picture of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.


The 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.

that which cost me nothing

Ran across this while cleaning out some old youth ministry files.
It comes from a resource I used to receive from Jeanne Mayo.
I is taken from 2 Samuel 24:24 where David says, "I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing."

Thanks "Aunt Jeanne" for sharing your awesome resources. (She's not really my aunt but that is what I call her. f.y.i.)

On the windows of my heart,

I hear the tappings...

Voices, needs, and drives

That peer through the "glass" of my heart

And beg for entrance to my soul.

"The fantasy dream"...

"The fantasy desire"...

"The fantasy person"...

BUT I WILL NOT GIVE TO THE LORD MY GOD THAT WHICH COSTS ME NOTHING.

For though the tappings be quite constant

And the glass be fogged by tears...

I have a higher "fantasy" than most--

a "fantasy" of pleasing HIM...

The God of every dream I hold...

The God of every desire I pulse...

The God of every person I pursue...

And though my "fantasy" may cause me

Lonely moments...

Unfinished sentences...

And even aching's from within...

I WILL NOT GIVE TO THE LORD MY GOD THAT WHICH COSTS ME NOTHING.

And what of you, my friend?

How high is your "price tag?"...

How quickly will you sell your soul?...

Or your moment?

Or your worth?

You scream of the cost

And selfishly murmur to yourself

Of the "price tag" of it all...

Yet the God of all my "fantasies"

Never said it would be easy...

Never said the crowd would cheer...

Never even said the crowds would know...

He just quietly, patiently

Taps at the window of your heart...

Peers through the glass to your soul...

And soberly whispers,

"Will you also go away?"

I pause for a moment...

Hold my breath...

Raise my eyes to His...

And slowly answer...

I answer slowly because

Answers that are given quickly

Are often forgotten quickly ...

"I WILL NOT GIVE THEE, LIVING GOD, THAT WHICH COSTS ME NOTHING."