The
Three
Trees
Once
there were three trees on a hill in a 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 the
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
woodsman 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 women 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 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.
