THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND

The Queen of England often visits her country castles. On one occasion when she was walking by herself, it started to rain. She rushed to the shelter of the nearest cottage. A lady came to the door who was really ticked off that someone would bother her at that time in the morning. She opened the door a few inches and barked, "What do you want?" The queen didn't introduce herself. She merely asked, "May I borrow an umbrella?

"Just a minute," grumbled the woman. She slammed the door, was gone for a moment, and returned bringing the rattiest umbrella she could find, one with broken ribs and small holes. She pushed it through the door and said, "Here." The Queen thanked her and went on her way with the ragged umbrella.

The next morning, the Queen's full escort, dressed in full uniform, pulled up in front of the cottage. One of the escorts knocked on the door and returned the umbrella to the woman saying, "Madam, the Queen of England thanks you." As he walked away he heard her mutter, "If I'd only known, I'd have given her my best."

Some day we'll all stand before the King of heaven, and some will be heard to mutter, "If I'd only known, I'd have given you my best." Because God loved us, He gave us His very best, His Son. Can we give Him anything less than our best?

Edited from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice.
Copyright 1994 by Youth Specialties, Inc.

THE PEARLS

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 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 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 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?"
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That`s okay. Sleep well, 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 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!
When we give over to Him the things we are holding onto in life, our reward is going to be much so much greater!! Let go of the problems, the possessions or the things you are putting before Him! Give to Him what you are holding on to!
In the end your reward will be greater! Your heavenly Father loves you incredibly!!
It makes us wonder what we are hanging on to!

By Alice Gray as printed in "More Stories For the Heart".

THANKS FOR VISITING! GOD BLESS YOU!

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