Before
you
go.. . . .
tarry a
while, and read this beautiful story
The Three Trees
(Reprinter: Courtesy of Ms Nena
Alcantara-Amigo,
Davis, No. Carolina)
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 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 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 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,
theTree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, some people 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 a Man
had been crucified on it to save the world from sin.
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
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