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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 the 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,
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, 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, God 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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