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THREE TREES
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They
were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said,
"Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold,
silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving
and everyone would see my beauty."
Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will
take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of
the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of
my hull." Finally, the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the
tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on the
top of the hill and look up to my branches and think of the heavens
and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest
tree of all time and people will always remember me..."
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a
group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first
tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree. I think I should be
able to sell the wood to a carpenter." And he began cutting it down.
The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him
into a treasure chest.
At the second tree, a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree.
I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was
happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened
because he knew that if they cut him down, his dreams would not come
true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from
my tree, so I'll take this one." And he cut it down. When the first
tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for
animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was
not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made
into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and
carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large
pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by and the trees
forgot about their dreams.
Then, one day, a man and a woman came to the barn. She gave birth and
they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from
the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the
baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the
importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest
treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing
boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to
sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the
tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men
woke the sleeping man and he stood and said "peace" and the storm
stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of
Kings in it's boat. Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It
was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who
carried it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree
and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came,
the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the
top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus
had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going
your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your
trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got
what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't
always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways
are not our ways, but His ways are always best.