"THREE
TREES"
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They
were discussing their hopes and dreams.
The first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a
treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I would be decorated with intricate carvings
and everyone would admire 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 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 just 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.
As the years passed by, the trees forgot about their
dreams. Then one day, a man and 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 ceased. At this time, the tree
knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the
people mocked the man who was carrying 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 always our ways, but His ways are always best.