Spiders Web

A young soldier found himself in a terrible and hopeless battle.

The enemy was soundly defeating this young man's army. He and his

comrades found themselves hastily retreating from the battle

field in defeat, running away in fear for their very lives. The

enemy gave chase. This young man ran hard and fast, full of fear

and desperation, but soon found himself cut off from his comrades

in arms.

He eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave. Knowing

the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the

chase, he chose to hide there. After he crawled into the cave, he

fell to his face in the darkness, desperately crying to God to

save him and protect him from his enemies. He also made a bargain

with God, one which I (and perhaps you too?) have made before. He

promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the

remainder of his days.

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a

spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance of the cave. As

he watched the delicate threads being slowly drawn across the

mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He

thought, "I asked God for protection and deliverance, and he sent

me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?"

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would soon discover his

hiding place and kill him. And soon he did hear the sound of his

enemies, who were now scouring the area looking for those in

hiding. One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's

entrance. As the young man crouched in the darkness, hoping to

surprise the enemy in a last-minute desperate attempt to save his

own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control.

As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came

upon the spider's web, which by now was completely strung across

the opening. He backed away and called out to a comrade, "There

can't be anyone in here. They would have had to break this

spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on."

Years later, this young man, who made good his promise by

becoming a preacher and evangelist, wrote about that ordeal. What

he observed has stood by me in times of trouble, especially

during those times when everything seemed impossible.

He wrote: "Where God is, a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where

God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web."

-- Author unknown

Pearls

Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One day when

she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Jenny

saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50. How she wanted that

necklace, and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for

her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, but it

costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what. I'll buy you the

necklace, and when we get home we can make up a list of chores

that you can do to pay for the necklace. And don't forget that

for your birthday Grandma just might give you a whole dollar

bill, too. Okay?"

Jenny agreed, and her mother bought the pearl necklace for her.

Jenny worked on her chores very hard every day, and sure enough,

her grandma gave her a brand new dollar bill for her birthday.

Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls.

How Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere-to

kindergarten, bed and when she went out with her mother to run

errands. The only time she didn't wear them was in the shower-her

mother had told her that they would turn her neck green!

Now Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he

would get up from his favorite chair every night and read Jenny

her favorite story.

One night when he finished the story, he said, "Jenny, do you

love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you," the little girl said.

"Well, then, give me your pearls."

"Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!" Jenny said. "But you can have Rosie,

my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for

my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?"

"Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with

a kiss. "Good night, little one."

A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her story,

"Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you."

"Well, then, give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons, my toy

horse. Do you remember her? She's my favorite. Her hair is so

soft, and you can play with it and braid it and everything. You

can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy," the little girl said to

her father.

"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again

with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."

Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a

story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling.

"Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand. She opened it and

her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her

father's hand.

With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and with the

other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet box. Inside of

the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls.

He had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the

cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing.

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

treasure.

Are you holding onto things which Lord wants you to let go of?

Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners,

relationships, habits and activities which you have come so

attached to that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes, it is

so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one

thing....

The Lord will never take away something without giving you

something better in its place.

-- Author unknown