The Pearls

I read a story some time ago of a little girl who loved to play dress up. She would spend hours searching through the old wooden chest filled with clothes long forgotten over the years. After carefully picking out the perfect satin dress and glamorous floppy hat she would toss a worn mink stole over her tiny shoulders. Oh how she loved to play in her imaginary world of make believe that she was glamorously all grown up. There was one piece of her ensemble that was never overlooked. No matter what costume she put together the final touch for her was a long strand of costume jewelry pearls. How she loved those pearls! Many times she would observe as her mother would carefully lay her own strand of genuine cultured pearls around her neck when she was going out on some special occasion. Often the little girl’s father would ask his daughter if she would like to have real pearls some day. The response from the child was always no because she liked her own pearls better. Her wise father would always end the conversation saying, “Someday you will be ready for some real pearls. It takes time to grow to appreciate the real thing my precious child.” He would then kiss her on the cheek and she would happily run off with her long strand of fake pearls bouncing around her little neck.

In time the little girl grew up. Her mother passed on to glory to be with her Savior. On the day of his beloved wife’s funeral the man came to his now grown up daughter. He held a box in his worn and wrinkled hands. With misty eyes he looked lovingly into those of his daughter’s. Taking her hands he placed the box in her hands and said, “ I believe today is the day you are ready for these. I think you have grown into a woman who can now appreciate what is real.” The young woman opened the box to find the lovely genuine pearls that once belonged to her mother. As she stared at the beauty of the gift her heart filled with an overflowing of love for her father because he had waited on her to be ready for such a lavish gift. She would cherish these pearls all the days of her life because she knew the cost of these gems. No the cost could not be measured by dollars. The cost for these pearls was in knowing that her mother would never again wear these but now the pearls had been passed on to her to care for.

Now I have a question for you dear reader. Are you holding on to some “fake pearls?” All too often we hang on too tight and too long to something that seems real but it has no real value. Perhaps it is a job, a relationship or a status. We choose to keep what is GOOD when the whole time God wants to give you what is BEST.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is found in Jeremiah 29:11. It says: