The Plastic Pearls

There was a little girl named Jenni. One day she and her mother ran in to the store for something her mom needed. Jenni caught sight of a little necklace hanging on the wall and stopped short. "Oh, mommy! Look at the beautiful necklace! Oh, mommy! Can I have it? Please!" It was a fake pearl necklace.

Her mom looked at the price and said, "Well, Jenni, I don't have an extra 1.99 today. But, I'll tell you what. Your birthday is in a couple weeks and your grandma usually sends you a dollar in your card. You could use that and also do a few chores around the house and earn the money to buy this yourself!"

And that's just what Jenni did. Her birthday came and sure enough, Grandma sent the dollar and she did enough chores to earn the rest and her mom took her back to the store where she purchased the little necklace.

And Jenni wore it everywhere! To Sunday school, to school and to play. The only place she didn't wear it was the bathtub, because her mom was pretty sure it would turn her neck green!

One day her dad came in to kiss her goodnight. He sat on the edge of her bed and said, "Jenni, do you love me?"

"Oh, Daddy! Of course I love you! I love you more than the stars!"

"Jenni, would you give me your pearls?"

Jenni's hand went to her neck and she clutched the pearls tightly. "Oh, Daddy! My pearls? Daddy! I'll give you my toy pony!? Would you like that?"

Her dad said, "That's ok, Jenni, goodnight, sweetie."

The next night he came in to kiss her and said, "Jenni, do you love me?"

"Oh, Daddy, you're so silly! I love you bigger than the world!"

"Jenni, would you give me your pearls?"

"Daddy! My pearls? What if I give you my doll? The one that cries real tears?"

"That's ok, honey, goodnight."

The next night when her dad walked in to the room, Jenni was sitting cross-legged on her bed. As he sat down on the edge she held out her little fist and with a big tear rolling down her cheek, she dropped her pearl necklace into his hand.

And he took them.

But, at the same time, his other hand reached into his back pocket and he took out a blue velvet box.

He had bought her real pearls.

God wants to replace all the cheap, fake things in our life that we hang on to so tightly and give us the real deal.

Pain helps a person discern between plastic and real pearls.