-Why do we sometimes hold on so tightly to things God is asking us to let go of? God really does want to bless us with His very best, but we can get so attached to the things of this life that we aren’t willing to release them to Him.

-One little girl saved up her money for weeks and weeks. She wanted to buy a pretty little plastic pearl necklace she had seen down at the store. At last, she had enough money to buy the necklace. She was so excited! Her Daddy took her down to the store so she could purchase the necklace of her dreams. She brought it home and paraded around in it proudly. That night, when her Daddy came in to kiss her goodnight, he asked her, “Selena, can I have your necklace?” Little Selena looked at her Daddy with a frown and said, “No, Daddy. It’s my necklace.” Her Daddy just smiled and kissed her and said, “I love you, Sweetie. Good night.” The next night the same thing happened. Her Daddy asked her if he could have her necklace, and her response was the same: “No, Daddy. I saved and saved and bought this with my own money.” Daddy just kissed her and said, “I love you, Selena. Good night.” On the third night, when her Daddy came in, Selena was sobbing, with big alligator tears streaming down her face. She handed her necklace to him and said, “Daddy, you can have it. I don’t need it anymore.” Her Daddy smiled and knelt down beside her and pulled her close for a great big Daddy hug. Then, he took her necklace and slipped it into his pocket. As he did, his hand came out with a thin black box with a velvety cover. He opened it and held it out to her. Her eyes got as big as saucers as she saw a string of real pearls shining back at her. “Oh Daddy,” she said. “Thank you, thank you! If I had known, I would have given you my necklace the first time you asked.”